Class T=5 >y 3 ft Co S ~" 
Book ^Tj & l* 



I 



APOLOGY 

FOR 

QMOTING CHRISTIANITY 

IN 

INDIA. 



BY 

HE REV. CLAUDIUS BUCHANAN, D. I). 

Author of " Christian Researches in Asia." 



^IRST AMERICAN FROM FIRST LONDON EDITION, 



half the profits of this Edition will be devoted to 
i support of Foreign Missions and Translations.] 



" I 



BOSTON 



PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY NATHANIEL WILLTS, 
NO. 76, STATE-STREET. 

s. '1814, 



CONTENTS. 



Page, 

The face 1 

Letter addressed to the Court of Directors 
of the Honourable the East 'India Compa- 
ny, dated 25th May, 18 13, in Reply to the 
Statements of Charles Bidler, Esq. M. P. 
concerning the idol Juggernaut. — Printed 
by order of the House of Commons . 16 

Second Letter addressed to the Court of Di- 
rectors, dated 8th June, 1813, respecting a 
peculiar Character in the Worship of the 
Hindoos ; in further Reply to the State- 
ments of Charles Bidler, Esq. — Printed hq 
order of the House of Commons . . . * 33 

Letter and Memorial, addressed to the Bi*kt 
Hon. Gilbert Lord Minto, Governor Gene- 
ral of India ; dated Calcutta, 9th Novem- 
ber, ±807, in Defence of Promoting Chris- 
tianity in India. — Printed by order of the 
House of Commons 45 

Remarks (written in June, is 13 J, on the 
Letter from the Bengal Government to the 
Court of Directors* dated 7th Dec. lsor, 
in Reply to the above Memorial . f 7$ 



CONTENTS, 



APPENDIX. 

No. I. Letter from the Bengal Government 
to the Secret Committee of the Court of Di- 
rectors, dated 7th December, 1807, in Reply 
to the Memorial presented by the liev. Dr. 
Buchanan „ . . 10G 

No. II. Letter from the Court of Directors 

to the Governor General in Council at Fort 
William in Bengal, dated 7th September, 
±808, in Beply to their Dispatch, detailing 
ike Proceedings respecting the Missiona- 
ries 121 

No. III. Letter from General Hay M'Dow- 
all, Commander in Chief of the Forces un- 
der the Presidency of Fort St. George, to 
the Governor and Council of that Presi- 
dency ; dated 24tth JVov. ±807, respecting 
the Mutiny at Vellore ; ivith the proceed- 
ings of Government thereupon ... ±29 

No. IV. Minute of George Udny, Esq, Mem- 
ber of the Supreme Council in Bengal, pro- 
testing against 64 superintending" the Idol 
Juggernaut, "as tending to perpetuate a 
System of gross Idolatry extracted from » 
the Bengal Judicial Consultations of sd 
April,. 1808 . . , . " . , . . 135 

No. V. Letter' from Charles Butler , Esq. 
M, P. to the Hon. the Court of Directors, 
respecting the Idol Juggernaut ; dated the 
mth May, 1813 . . T ..... . 138 



CONTENTS* 



$0. VI. " The Forerunner of the Holy Bible" 
being a Translation of a Tract in the Ben- 
galee Language, printed by the Missiona- 
ries $ which the Bengal Government trans- 
mitted to the Court of Directors as being, 
in their judgment, calculated to inflame 
the prejudices of the Hindoos . . . 145 

No. VII. Memorial addressed by the Bap- 
tist Missionaries to the Right Hon. Gilbert 
Lord Minto, Governor General of India, 
praying that the Bengal Government would 
spare their Mission ; dated Mission-Rouse, 
Serampore, Both Sept. 1807 .... 150 

No. VIII. Natural History cultivated by . 
the Protestant Missionaries in India 167 

No. IX, Report of the Immolation of Fe- 
males, between Cossimbazar, in Bengal, and 
the mouth of the Hooghly, in the months of 
May and June, 1812 171 

No. X. Testimony of the Honourable the 
East- India Company to the Character of 
Mr. Swartz 173 

No. XI. The Apology of Mr, Swartz, in 
Answer to a Speech delivered in the Bri- 
tish Parliament in 1793 . . . . . 17$ 



PREFACE, 



The immolations under the Car of the Hindoo 
Deity are not particularly considered in the 
following Letter, that not being the subject 
which 1 was called upon to notice : but, as 
Mr. Buller is of opinion, " that people may 
with as much justice censure our Government 
at home for not preventing suicide, as they may 
the Government abroad for not preventing the 
immolations in question ;" and since a compa- 
rison between " immolations in India, and sui- 
cide in England," has actually been made in 
Parliament since the printing of his letter, it 
seems to be proper to weigh the merits of such 
a comparison. I allege that there is no ground 
for the comparison, either as to the frequency 
of the deed or as to the principle. 

And, first, with respect to the frequency of 
the deed. — Mr. Buller observes, that when he 
happened to be at Juggernaut, at the festival 
of the Rutt in 1809, " he heard but 01 one in- 
stance of an immolation under the wheels of the 
car." If Mr. Buller can only speak of what 
he " heard." no dependence is to be placed on 
his information, as he well knows, even re- 
specting this one immolation which he mentions. 
When 1 was at Juggernaut, had I not followed 
the Idol's chariot mvself, I should probably 



PREFACE. 



have never u heard 59 of the two immolations 
which I witnessed. If the writer wished to 
have communicated to the nation any certain 
information concerning these self-devotements„ 
lie ought, every morning, during the height of 
the festival, to have visited the Golgotha, or 
place where the dead bodies are cast forth ; 
and also the sands between the Idol's tower and 
the sea, and the precincts of the town. And 
while examining these scenes, he ought to have 
counted the bodies whose bones were bruised 
by the car ; for it is very easy to distinguish 
the skeletons which have been crushed— J say 
skeletons, for the dogs and vultures generally 
eat off the flesh before the morning. The wri- 
ter computes the number of pilgrims present at 
the Rutt Jattra of 1809, at about 100,000 ; al- 
though he observes elsewhere*, that this was a 
small number compared to that of other years. 
Does he then know what was the daily morta- 
lity, from different causes, of this one hundred 
thousand pilgrims ? Was it twenty, or fifty, or 
one hundred, per day ? We know the calcula- 
tion which has been made, of the daily casu- 
alties in an army of 100,000 men, when in a 
generally healthy state. What, then, must be 
the daily average of deaths in an army of one 
hundred* thousand pilgrims ; « a large propor- 
tion of whom, 5 ' according to Mr. Buller, « con- 
sists of the old and infirm, who come for the 
express purpose of laying their bones within 
the precincts of the city !" Or did he ever 
make any inquiry respecting the daily devas- 
tation of the various causes of death, so as to 
be able to offer even a conjecture on the sub- 



PREFACE. 



8 



ject ? Did he ever send for the hurries (or 
corpse-carriers) and investigate accurately how 
many immolations took place while he resided 
in Orissa ? Or can he safy certainly, from any 
authentic data, that there were not in fact 
many self-devotenients during that period ? — I 
think it probable, that the writer cannot answer 
one of these questions in the affirmative. A 
simple case will explain my meaning in pro- 
posing them. During the many years Mr. Bui- 
ler resided in Calcutta, he probably never saw 
more than three or four women burned I do 
not know that he saw one ; — yet it now appears, 
from unquestionable evidence, that a very con- 
siderable number of females were immolated 
within a short distance of his residence during 
that period. As it was with respect to immo- 
lations at and near Calcutta, so, we would in- 
fer, it might have been as to immolations at 
Juggernaut. 

It will be proper here to assign the reason 
why so few immolations of women are seen by 
Europeans in India ; for I understand the cir- 
cumstance has greatly perplexed the minds of 
some. The causes are these : 

1. There are in India 30,000 English, and 
fifty millions of natives. In Calcutta alone ? 
the calculation, a few years ago, was 1500 En- 
glish, and about half a million natives. ' 

2. By a law of the East-India Company, no 
British subject can reside above ten miles' dis- 
tance from a principal settlement, without a, 
special licence. 

3. The burnings do not always occur in the 
same place • but at some convenient spot near 



4 



PREFACE. 



the house of the deceased Hindoo, and geiie- 
rally on the banks of a river. 

4>. The burning generally begins next fore- 
noon after the decease of the husband ; or if he 
die during the night, it takes place next even- 
ing, on account of the state of the corpse in a 
hot climate. Immediately on the decease of 
the husband, the Brahmins wait on the widow, 
to know if she means to burn ; and all is set- 
tled in an hour or two. 

3. If the burning takes place in the forenoon, 
it does not begin generally till ten o'clock, or 
later, when the sun is hot, and when no En- 
glishman goes to any distance without necessity., 
If it takes place in the evening, the flame may 
he seen at a distance ; but as it is more likely 
to be merely the burning of a dead body (the 
pile for which is generally lighted in the even- 
ing), the expectation of a woman burning alive 
is not excited. From the terraces of the houses 
in Calcutta, funeral piles may be seen on the 
other side of the river so commonly, that they 
are not particularly noticed. No person thinks 
of going over to examine what is doing; as it 
is known to be, in general cases, only the burn- 
ing of a dead body. 

6. Unless an Englishman comes casually up- 
on the scene, he never can, generally speaking, 
see a burning. The only expedient is, to de- 
sire your Kimloo servants to mention when they 
hear that one is about to take place. But 
again, your Hindoo servants live in your own 
house, ami not in the native part of the town ; 
and unless it be one of their own relations who 
is dead, they seldom hear any thing of the event 



4 



PREFACE. 



3 



till afterwards. Another obstacle is, that they 
are averse to communicate to Christians any 
information concerning a custom which they 
know is not approved. The Mahometans, on 
the other hand, have less difficulty; but then 
they have less acquaintance with what is pass- 
ing among Hindoo families. My sircar (or 
house-steward) has more than once apprised me 
of a burning ; but I do not recollect that a Ma- 
hometan servant ever did. And, again, even 
if you should receive timely intelligence, it may 
happen that the distance is inconvenient. The 
usual place of burning, on the Calcutta side of 
the water, is at Chitpore Ghaut, about four 
miles from the English part of the town ; and 
few of the English will choose to travel eight 
miles, under a hot sun, through crowded bazars, 
to witness the scene. 

7. To all these causes may be added, the 
utter disinclination of the English, in general, 
to inquire into what the natives are doing. No- 
thing relating to them excites much interest. 
They constitute a distinct world from the En- 
glish. Their language, manners, and religion, 
the English understand not. But chiefly the 
personal degradation of the Hindoos, from po- 
verty of circumstances and ignorance of mind, 
separates the two nations ; so that an English 
lady or gentleman, in Calcutta, is generally 
much better acquainted with what has passed 
during the former year on the banks of the river 
Thames, [in England] than with the scenes on 
the banks of the Ganges. 

These considerations will shew what weight 
is due to the argument so often repeated, viz. 
1* 



PREFACE. 



That the immolations of women must be fm§ 
since so few English gentlemen have seen them. 

The same observations will^for the most part 9 
account for that prevailing ignorance concerning 
Hindoo scenes in general, such as the licenti- 
ous ceremonies of the Mutt Jattra, and the im- 
molations of men in the various ways in" which 
the) are practised ;' for numerous are the modes 
in which religious suicide is perpetrated, be- 
sides that of being crushed under the chariot 
of an idol. To compare the immolations of 
men in India with suicide in England, is ex- 
ceedingly preposterous. It is a received maxim 
of philosophic writers, that, in any .nation, the 
cases of suicide by the men greatly exceed those 
by the women ; and the fact' is accounted for 
on self-evident principles. But it has been sa~ 
tisiaeiorily established, that upwards of ten 
thousand women commit suicide annually in 
India, What becomes, then, of the analogy 
between ihe immolations of men in India and 
in England ? 

Again : the immolations in India differ en- 
tirely from suicide in England, in the principle «, 
or moving cause of the act, — Religious suicide 
among the Hindoos is an act quite distinct from 
that suicide in Europe which results from des- 
pair. A Hindoo is not usually urged to this 
act by a sentiment of despair, but by the con- 
Yiction of a meritorious deed ; by the belief 
that he purchases heaven by his own blood ; 
or by sympathetic phrensy. He devotes himself 
to death with the same feeling, and on the same 
principle, that he devotes his " first-born child 
to Gunga," and can behold the infant in the 



PREFACE. 



? 



jaws of the alligator without compassion or 
compunction. The advocates for the tranquil 
continuance of the superstition of Brahma will 
not deny, that, whatever he its actual charac- 
ter, or whoever he the spiritual deity that rules 
its votaries, it destroys all the " tender visit - 
ings of nature. 5 ' 

It is proper I should say something on the 
subject of the Second Letter in the following 
pages. In three publications concerning India, 
viz. " A Memoir of the Expediency of an Ec- 
clesiastical Establishment," the " Christian Re- 
searches in Asia," and the " Brief View of the 
State of the British Colonies in Respect to Re- 
ligious Instruction," there is no exposition of 
the peculiar subject of that letter. And it is 
most certain, that it would not now have been 
given, had not an attempt been made, in a pa- 
per laid before the Council of the Nation, to 
represent the " sculptures on the walls of Jug- 
gernaut" as being as harmless, in regard to 
their moral effect on the Hindoos, as the figures 
on an Etruscan vase are to us : from which the 
conclusion naturally would be, that the worship 
of the Hindoos is not more contaminated by in- 
delicacy than that of the English. 

I would beg leave to notice in this place the 
late discussion in Parliament concerning the 
enormities of the Hindoo worship, and the at- 
tempt made by some Honorable Members to 
qualify them. I understood, some time ago, 
that the statement in my own writings whicn 
chiefly excited animadversion, was that which 
refers to the burning of women. But I pre- 



s 



PREFACE, 



sume that it is now generally known, that 
subsequent statements of indubitable authority 
have far exceeded mine, and have set the ques- 
tion at rest. 

Perhaps the Honorable Members above al- 
luded to are not aware, that a work has been 
recently published ia Bengal, in four volumes 
quarto, entitled, " An Account of the Writings, 
Religion, and Manners of the Hindoos, includ- 
ing Translations from their principal Works ; 
by William Ward, one of the Baptist Mission- 
aries at Serampore $" which has been bought 
up with avidity in India, has already passed 
through two editions, and is now republishing 
in this country. It was printed under the im- 
mediate eye of the Supreme Government (as it 
necessarily must be), and possesses an unques- 
tionable authenticity, generally, on the various 
subjects concerning which it treats. It takes 
the high ground of literal translations from the 
Hindoo books, recent events, and living wit- 
nesses. — Now, this work not only confirms the 
statements in my volumes, in most points which 
were controverted, but it goes far beyond them. 
It describes, for example, the atrocities con- 
nected with the burning of women, self-torture, 
and the impurity of the Hindoo worship, in 
such a manner as shews that I have scarcely 
entered the vestibule of their temple. It states, 
that an attempt was made to ascertain the 
number of widows who were burned alive, with- 
in thirty miles around Calcutta, in the year 
1803, and " that the return made a total of 
four hundred and thirty-eight.^ And, in re- 
gard to the circumstances of horror which 



PREFACE. 



9 



sometimes attend these scenes, I beg the reader 
will accept the two following examples. The 
first has already been noticed in the House of 
Commons, in answer to an opposing statement 
which asserted the "filial piety" of the Hindoos. 

" About the year 1796, the following most 
shocking and attrocious murder, under the 
name of suhumurunu,* was perpetrated at Mu- 
jilupoor, about a day's journey south from Cal- 
cutta. Vaucha-ramu, a Bramhun, of the above 
place, dying, his wife went to be burnt with the 
body ; all the previous ceremonies were per- 
formed ; she was fastened on the pile, and the 
fire was kindled. The funeral pile was by the 
side of some brushwood, and near a river. It 
was at a late hour when the pile was lighted, 
and was a very dark, rainy night. When the 
fire began to scorch this poor woman, she con- 
trived to disentangle herself from the dead bo- 
dy, crept from under the pile, and hid Jherself 
among the brushwood. In a little time it was 
discovered that only one body was on the pile. 
The relations immediately took the alarm, and 
began to hunt for the poor wretch who had made 
her escape. After they had found her, the son 
dragged her forth, and insisted upon her throw- 
ing herself upon the pile again, or that she 
should drown or hang herself. She pleaded 
for her life, at the hands of her own son, and 
declared she could not embrace so horrid a 
death. But she pleaded in vain ; the son urg- 
ed that he should lose his cast, and that, there- 
fore, he would die or she should. Unable to 



* Suhu, xvith : murunu, death, 



10 



PREFACE. 



persuade her to hang or drown herself, the son 
and the others then tied her hands and her feet, 
and threw her on the funeral pile, where she 
quickly perished." 

The other example, which far exceeds the 
foregoing in awful enormity, is the following : 
— Goopinat'hu, a Bramlmn employed in the 
Serampore printing-office, in the year 1799 
saw twenty4wo females burnt alive with the 
remains of Ununtu, a Bramhun of Bagnuparu, 
near Nudeeyu. This Koolimi Bramhun had 
more than a hundred wives* At the first kin- 
dling of the fire only three of these wives had 
arrived. The fire was kept kindled three days I 
When one or more arrived, the ceremonies were 
gone through, and they threw themselves on the 
blazing fire! On the first day three were 
burned ; on the second and third days, nineteen 
more. Among these women, some were as 
much as forty years old, and others as young 
as sixteen. The three first had lived with this 
Bramhun, the others had seldom seen him. He 
married in one house four sisters ; two of these 
were among the number burnt." 

Now, if the horrible transaction here related 
did not take place, it is very easy to ascertain 
the fact. Nudeeyu, or as it is commonly cal- 
led, Nuddeea, is at no great distance up the ri- 
ver above Calcutta. The event is said to have 
occurred in 1799. If it did take place in that 
year, hundreds of people now alive must have 
w itnessed it. The Brahmin, who had a hun- 
dred wives, must have been well known. Let 
the inquiry then be made ; and let the credit of 
tfsg work? generally, rest on the result. I kn«|V¥ 



PREFACE. 



11 



nothing of tlie merits of the book, but I depend 
on the character of the authors and the circum- 
stances under which it is published; and I say 
that the probability of the truth of the trans- 
action just related is as great as the absurdity 
would be of supposing the following case, viz, 
" That an author could be found in England 
who should publish a work, in four volumes 
quarto, in which it should be stated, that in the 
year 1799 twenty-two women were burnt alive 
on the banks of the Thames at Richmond, and 
that the fire was kept burning three days ; and 
moreover, that the book was published with the 
express leave of the King, under the eye and 
responsibility of his government. 59 * 

* As certain gentlemen from India have been ac- 
cused in Parliament of ''pertinaciously denying 1 facts, 
as the easiest mode of resisting* the relig'ious improve- 
ment of India/' it is proposed to do them justice, and 
to prove their sagacity, by the investigation of the 
above sacrifice of twenty-two women on one pile ; and 
their attention should be steadily fixed in the contem- 
plation of the subject, until they or their parliamentary 
accusers shall have obtained the victory. Or if they 
should like the investigation of the following fact bet- 
ter, it may be adopted with equal propriety : the event 
occurred in May or June of last year, at Chunakuli,. 
not far from Calcutta ; and the account of It was soon 
after printed and published in Bengal. A Kooleen 
Brahmin died at Chunakuli, "who had married twen- 
ty-five women, thirteen of whom died during* his life- 
time : the remaining" twelve perished with him on the 
funeral pile, leaving thirty children to deplore the fatal 
effects of this horrid system." — The same printed ac- 
count immediately states the following' fact, as illus- 
trative of the system : — " Some years ago a Kooleen 
Brahmin, of considerable property, died at Sookachura, 
three miles east of Serampore (where the Missionaries 



I, J; 



PREFACE. 



Zeigenbalg, and his fellow-missionaries, first 
gave the only satisfactory account of the man- 
ners and religion of the South of India.* It 
was to be expected that the present Missiona- 
ries in Bengal would give the most particular 
account of the North. In every heathen na- 
tion, the Missionaries are generally best qua- 
lined to delineate the character of the inhabi- 
tants. Both in the Eastern and Western He- 
mispheres the religious men have described the 
country and manners of the people. The com- 
mercial men in the East know, in general, very 

live.) He had married more than forty women, all of 
whom died before him, excepting eighteen. On this 
occasion a fire, extending ten or twelve yards in length, 
was prepared, into which the remaining eighteen threw 
themselves, leaving more than forty children, many of 
whom are still living." 

Or, if the case of the seventy women, who were sa- 
crificed in May and Jane of last year, within two hun- 
dred miles of Calcutta, of whom the twelve above- 
mentioned were a part, and of whom a list and parti- 
cular account, recording name and place, was lately in- 
serted in the public papers, should be thought a more 
suitable subject for enquiry, it may be undertaken. 
This, indeed, appears to be the fittest case of all for 
trial and actual proof ; for it is stated that there are 
"one hundred and eighty -four" witnesses, who may be 
produced ; namely, the one hundred and eighty-four 
orphans of the deceased fathers and sacrificed mothers. 
The places where these witnesses reside have all been 
printed ; and are not, in general, far from Calcutta.— 
{Sea Appendix, No. IX.) 

* The transactions of the Tranquebar Mission filf 
many volumes in quarto, in the German language. A 
very small portion of them has been translated into 
English. 



PREFACE. 



13 



little of the subject. Resident generally in 
towns or on the sea-coast, and occupied by fo- 
reign avocations, they rarely penetrate into the 
interior, to investigate, under a meridian sun, 
the manners and customs of the people. As 
to the literary men, again, who merely consult 
books, their advantages of information are con- 
fessedly very far inferior to those of the Mis- 
sionaries. Of this general ignorance of English 
residents in India concerning native scenes, we 
have lately had some remarkable examples in 
the evidence delivered at the bar of the House 
of Commons. Gentlemen who had occupied 
high official stations in that country betrayed a 
defect of information respecting the state of the 
natives, and the progress of Christianity in dif- 
ferent provinces, which has been contemplated 
by many with utter astonishment. The circum- 
stance, however, may be accounted for, iu some 
degree, by the following consideration. India 
is not less than three thousand miles in extent. 
Now the Shetland Islands are only seven hun- 
dred miles from London ; but a merchant in 
London knows very little about the manners 
and customs of the Shetland Isles. Thus it is 
in Hindustan. A merchant in Bengel knows 
in general very little of what is passing seven 
hundred miles from that province. But, if the 
question respects a distance of two thousand or 
three thousand miles, it is much if he have a 
map of the country. In the time of Governor 
Hastings, the life and acts of the illustrious 
Swartz, his contemporary, and of his learned 
predecessors and their transactions at the Courts 
of Tanjore and Mysore, and the progress of 



14 



PREFACE* 



Christianity in the southern regions and Cey* 
Ion, were all of them circumstances nearly as 
much unknown in Bengal, as the transactions of 
the Catholic Missionaries at the Court of Pe~ 
kin, or the state of Christianity in the interior 
of China. 

The great extent of Hindostan in longitude 
and latitude, may also account, in some degree, 
for the discrepancy of relations concerning the 
Hindoo people ; for in the nations between Cey- 
lon and Cabul, there are as great differences in 
manners, customs, and religion, as in those be- 
tween the Shetland Isles and Constantinople. 
Our nation has lately w ondered at the flattering 
account giv en of the Hindoos at the bar of the 
House of Commons, by some eloquent advocates 
for the continuance of their existing state. But 
the above consideration, of the great extent of the 
Indian Continent, may suggest the possibility, 
that, in some favoured region, a people may ex« 
ist, differing in certain respects, from the Hin- 
doos in general ; " a civilized and moral people, 59 
who" treat their females with confidetice.respect 
and delicacy;" who practice the virtues of "hos- 
pitality and charity;" w ho are " distinguished 
by the finest qualities of the mind;" who are 
" brave, generous and humane ; and their truth 
as remarkable as their courage ;" and who, in 
short, like St. Pierre's " happy Indian family," 
may well make Christians blush. The accounts 
do not add w hether these Hindoos have renoun- 
ced the worship of the Lingam ; for the adage 
still holds good, " If you would know the cha- 
racter of the nation, look at the temple." It is 
a good rule in our general reflections on nations* 




PREFACE. 



15 



to beware, lest by unduly exalting paganism, 
we should deba. e Christianity. It is yet a bet- 
ter rule to acknowledge the Bible in our old 
age, and to do some honour to Christianity be- 
fore we die.* Many of us from India had, cer- 
tainly, little opportunity of doing honour to 
Christianity there. Let us then look into the 
Bible at home ; and while we cherish with lau- 
dable anxiety a desire to do justice to the Hin- 
doos, to give to Brahma that which is Brah- 
ma's, let us also endeavour " to give unto God 
that which is God's." We shall shortly be 
placed in circumstances, even perhaps before 
we leave this world, when the reflection that 
we had "stood on the Lord's side," will be 
grateful to the soul, and support the sinking 
spirits ; and, when, in the review of all the 
nations which we have witnessed, and in re-* 
collection of their principles and actions, we 
shall bequeath to them this wish, That the 
book of God's revealed will may go forth a- 
mong them, as the best blessing to mankind ! 

1st July, 1313. 

* It is to be hoped, for the credit of British India, that 
the next generation of gentlemen returning' from that 
country, will not expose themselves to the severe and 
pointed remark of Lord Milton, the son of Earl Fitz- 
william, in his speech in the House of Commons. " I 
want no more," said he, " to convince me of the neces- 
sity of the religious improvement of India, than the 
sentiments which have been uttered this evening by 
gentlemen returned from that quarter." — -Debate of 
the 17th June, 1813. 



LETTER L 



TO THE COURT OF DIRECTORS OF THE HON. 
EAST-INDIA COMPANY. 

HONORABLE SIRS, 

1 WAS yesterday favoured with a copy of 
a letter addressed by Mr. Charles Buller to 
your Honourable Court* dated the 19th instant, 
which has been ordered to be laid on the table 
of the House of Commons, relating to the wor- 
ship of the idol Juggernaut ; and I now beg 
leave to submit some remarks on that document. 
The reference which the writer makes to me 
by name, and to my publications on this sub- 
ject, will apologize for oiy doing myself the 
honour of addressing your Honourable Court, 

Par. 1. Mr. Buller fully confirms, in essen- 
tial points, the general statements made by me, 
concerning the part which the Bengal Govern- 
ment has taken in the superintendance of Jug- 
gernaut, and in deriving revenue from the wor- 
ship of the idol ; but he defends the policy. 
With that I have nothing to do. He admits, 
also, that self-immolation under the wheels of 
the ear is practiced, but thinks the instances 
are rare. 1 am of opinion that they are rare 
also ; rare, I mean, when compared with the 
number of females immolated on the funeral 



LETTER 2. 



i? 



pile. He heard of one immolation while he 
was at Juggernaut ; and I have stated that I 
saw two. 

2. The only part of his letter that I need to 
notice, is that which relates to the indecency of 
the exhibition at Juggernaut : — " On that point, 
(he says) my attention was directed to a pub- 
lication by the Rev. Claudius Buchanan, who 
speaks of a priest having pronounced certain 
obscene stanzas in the ears of the people, and 
of certain indecent gestures exhibited by a boy 
and a priest on the car." On this passage Mr, 
Builer observes : — " I do not mean to doubt 
the fact." 6i With respect to the indecent ges- 
tures said to have been exhibited on the car, 
all I can say is, that if such things are done I 
never saw them." In the foregoing quotation* 
I state what I saw in 1806, and Mr. Builer 
states what he did not see in 1S09. 

3. On my witnessing the atrocities at Jug- 
gernaut in 1806, I wrote letters from the spot 
to a Member of the Supreme Government, and 
to the Senior Chaplain in Bengal, containing 
portions of my journal as now given to the pub- 
lic, and expressing a hope that the Bengal Go- 
vernment would use its influence in suppress- 
ing the sanguinary and indecent exhibitions. 
These letters were afterwards fairly copied, 
and put into the hands of many. Men's minds 
were shocked by the recital, and Government 
was blamed. It is possible that Mr. Builer 
may not have heard of these letters, al- 
though they were certainly in the hands of 
his intimate friends ; and in that case no blame 
is imputable. to him for not having alluded to, 

2* 



18 



LETTER I* 



111 em. Previously to this, one of the members 
of the Supreme Government (Mr. Udny) had 
protested against any interference at all with 
the idol Juggernaut* ; and the Marquis Welles- 
ley had declined giving his sanction to the law 
for the superintendance and controul of the 
temple. The question now was, whether, un- 
der existing circumstances, the enormity of 
these scenes might not be, in some degree, qua- 
lified. What instructions Government may 
have given to the Superintendant of the temple 
on this head, I do not know, as I soon after left 
the country. If they gave none, this is directly 
contrary to the evidence of Mr. Graham (him- 
self a Member of the Supreme Government,) 
before the Committee of the House of Commons. 
If the Government did issue some instructions 
on the subject, then that fact alone may ac- 
count for the difference of the scenes which 
were exhibited to me in 1S06, and to Mr. B tiller 
in 1809.f 

* See Mr. Udny's Minute : Appendix, No. IV. 

f I allege it will be found, that Mr. B idler has charg- 
ed me with an erroneous statement in regard to the 
existence of that which I myself contributed to abolish* 
Not that I can believe it is abolished. By no means. Li- 
centiousness is accounted as legitimate a character of 
the Rutt Jattra in India, as it was of the feast of Bac- 
chus among the Greeks. But I collect from Mr. Bui- 
ler's account, that a circumstance has taken place 
which I had reason to expect would result from my 
public remonstrance, and from the influence of the Go- 
vernment at Juggernaut ; namely, that there is no lon- 
ger any improper exhibition in the presence of Europe- 
ans of rank or authority. I had myself urged on the 



2>ETTEIt I. 



19 



4. I shall now however assume, for the sake 
of argument, that the Bengal Government did 
not send instructions to the Superintendant of 
Juggernaut to endeavour to qualify the enor- 
mity of the public exhibitions ; and shall pro- 
ceed to review the opposing statements of Mr. 
Buller and myself, even under that supposition. 
I shall simply state, in the first place, that what 
I saw in 1806 was seen, in part at least, by 
others. I appeal to Henry Hunter, Esq. super- 
intendant of the temple in 1806, and toCapt. Fat- 
ton and Lieut. Woodcock, military officers in 
the Company's service, then on duty at Jugger- 
naut, whether they have not at any time wit- 
nessed the priest, who, for the time, directed 
the car of the idol, standing with his long wand 
in his hand behind the wooden horses, project- 
ing this wand significantly, and with most un- 
seemly action, using at the same time other in- 
decent gestures, and accompanying these ges- 
tures with songs and extempore speeches, ad- 
dressed to a multitude composed of both sexes ?* 

Members of the Bengal Government, that although we 
could not well interfere with these festivals in other 
places, we might do it here ; inasmuch as we had now 
assumed the regulation of the place and temple (the 
law for the " super in tendance rj d management of the 
temple" having passed about two months before 1 ar- 
rived,) and as the priests would doubtless be civil to 
our requests, as receiving' their salaries at our hands. 
This reasoning was admitted ; and I was given to un- 
derstand that something would be done. 

* I might also refer to Capt. Comyn, (or Cummin) a 
visitor, and to other gentlemen who might have visited 
Juggernaut about that period, some of whom may 
.possibly be now in England. 



go 



LETTER Is 



0. Mr. B tiller wonders how I should know 
that the speeches of the priest were indecent, 
as lie thinks it probable 1 did not understand 
the vernacular tongue of the province of Orissa. 
In reply to this, I have to observe, that 1 had 
two translations of the language ; one from the 
indecent gestures of the priest, whose attitudes 
too plainly interpreted his words ; and another 
from my servants around me, who could trans- 
late every word he uttered, 

6. The writer has argued, in two different 
places of his letter, as if I had said that u my 
ears were shocked by hearing the songs. 5 ' I 
have used no such words, nor any thing like 
them. My words are these : " I felt a consci- 
ousness of doing wrong, in witnessing this dis- 
gusting exhibition ; and was somewhat appal- 
led by the magnitude and horror of the spec- 
tack." 

7. The writer marvels, in the next place* 
that I should have heard any thing distinct- 
ly, on account of the noise of the people " clap- 
ping their hands, talking, shouting, and mer- 
ry-making," in a crowd " of about one hun- 
dred thousand particularly " when, owing 
to the distance of the platform on which the 
priest stands, one could not by any endeavours 
get within ten ya; Is of him. 95 Mr. B.uller 
would leave it to be inferred here, that I was 
not within " ten yards" of the priest :— where- 
as I state, in the printed account, that 44 1 went 
on in the procession close by the tower and, 
in the letters circulated at Calcutta, it was 
stated, that I was so close to the tower " as to 
receive a garland of flowers from the hand of 



LETTER I, 



21 



the priest." The fact was, I could touch th<r 
car with my hand, during almost the whole 
time. 

8. Mr. Buller observes again, that the " noise 
of the people was incessant, and without inter- 
mission, so that he could not hear any thing 
that was said." Doubtless he could not hear 
what was said by the priest, if he stood at a 
distance. — It is proper to explain here that, on 
these occasions, Europeans in India usually 
look on at a distance, on account of the press 
of the people. At Juggernaut, in 1806, the 
English gentlemen usually sat in the Cutehery, 
or public office, to see the procession pass. I 
sat there for a while on different days ; but I 
could hear or see nothing distinctly, except at 
the moment of passing, and I joined the pro- 
cession. Mr. Buller mentions that some ladies 
were with him : it is therefore probable that 
Mr. Buller sat all the while with the ladies in 
the Cutehery, and that they did not follow the 
idol for two or three hours, to see what was 
transacting among the people, at their celebra- 
tion of the famed Rutt Jattra. 

9. Mr. Buller thinks that the noise of the 
people about the car is " incessant, without in- 
termission but if he had joined the car, he 
would have found that this is not the case. 
When the priest pronounces his stanzas, which 
he does generally while the car stands sti!!, 
there is a solemn silence among the people who 
are near it, and they listen with keen attention : 
at the conclusion they respond with a sensual 
yell of approbation, and then urge the car 
along. Many such yells I am sure Mr. Buller 



22 



LETTER I. 



nutsi have heard, although he might not have 
known what it was that produced them. To 
suppose that the priest should, on any public 
occasion, address the people and not be listened 
to, is hardly consistent, Mr. Bulier's acknowl- 
edged ignorance of this notorious circumstance, 
viz. that there is a frequen* intermission of the 
noise of the people about the car, and a gaping 
attention to devour the words of the priest, en- 
tirely convinces me that lie must be wholly ig- 
norant of many important particulars of the 
native sdffees at Juggernaut. 

10. I do not impute it as a fault to Mr. Bur- 
ler, that he has come away so imperfectly in- 
formed respecting the scenes of Juggernaut ; 
nor do i much wonder at it. In the eight years 
during which I beheve we resided together in 
Calcutta, I never met Mr. B iller once, that I 
can remember, in the district of the natives, at- 
tending a Sahamuron,* or witnessing their pro- 
cessions or religious rites. I never heard that 
he had any taste for investigating the existing 
customs of the people, or any solicitude to un- 
derstand the character of their superstition, 
whether for the purpose of extending Chris- 
tianity or of palliating idolatry. And I dare 
say he will candidly confess, that while he held 
Jus high station at Juggernaut, he never dream- 
ed of putting his person to inconvenience- or 
danger, by prosecuting researches of this kind ; 
and that, instead of visiting frequently, with 
such intent, the noisome precincts of the pollut- 
ed town and temple, he preferred the salubrious 



Burning of Women', 



LETTER I. 



23 



gales at bis residence, on the pleasant shores of 
the neighbouring sea. I do not, I say, impute 
it as a fault to Mr. BuJler, that he has not a 
taste for such inquiries ; but I wonder exceed- 
ingly that, under such circumstances, he should, 
in an official letter to your Honourable Court, 
intended to be laid on the table of the Bouse of 
Commons, have urged (at least with gravity) 
two objections so frivolous as the following : 
First, that possibly 1 did not understand the 
dialect of Orissa ; and second, that probably, 
if I did understand it, I was at too gre-at a dis- 
tance from the speaker to hear w hat was said. 
On these two inuendos rests the whole argument 
of Mr. Boiler, on the point in question, addres- 
sed to your Honourable Court. 

11. Mr. Buller observes, that nothing impro- 
per in the exhibition could have been apprehen- 
ded when he was at Juggernaut, otherwise the 
gentlemen would not have asked the ladies to 
witness the procession. This is specious ; but 
it amounts to little when the circumstances are 
explained. Mr. Hunter, in 1806, (long before 
Mr. Buller's arrival at Juggernaut,) would 
doubtless discountenance any indecency as much 
as he could, and would request the officiating 
priest to suppress it, at least in the presence of 
Europeans. I certainly had some conversation 
with Mr. Hunter on the subject. There was 
no lady at Juggernaut when I w as there. On 
occasion of the first lady coming to the place, 
we may believe that some endeavour would be 
made, by the interference of the Company's of- 
ficers, to prevent any thing improper from be- 
ing practised, while the idol passed the Cutch- 



24j 



LETTER U 



ery. If the director of the car was aware that 
any particular practice would give offence to 
the Superintendant of the temple (whose local 
influence we may suppose is very great,) he 
would, without doubt, in deference to his rank 
and authority, suppress it in his presence, or 
w hile passing the Cutchery. But this decides 
nothing as to the character of the Hindoo fes- 
tival of the Rutt Jattra. Had Mr. Builer ac- 
companied the car in a private character for a 
few days, he would have returned to England 
with very different impressions of the orgies of 
Juggernaut.* 

12. It will now he proper to advert to the 
stanzas of the officiating priest while directing 
the car. Mr. Builer admits, that " the songs 
in question, if he may rely on the information 
he received, are denominated Cubbee." He was 
rightly informed. They are licentious songs, 
recounting the amours of their gods, and are 
replete with obscenity, Mr. Builer apologises 
for the use of the Cubbee in these words ; " But 
whoever knows any thing of the Hindoos, must 
he aware that their veneration for antiquity will 
not allow them to depart from any thing which 
has once formed a part of their ceremonies. 55 
This U truly said. If left to themselves, with- 
out instruction or regard, the Hindoo people 
will never depart from their ancient supers.ti* 
tions, however sanguinary or obscene. 

13. As to Mr. Boiler's attempt to justify the 
recital of the Cubbee. in the public festivals of 

* T use the old orthography in writing" this wofd« 
English organs cannot pronounce lagfanatju 



LETTER I. 



2* 



the Hindoos, by intimating, that it is " a spe- 
cies of song not very unlike that which is ad- 
mitted into our own sacred writings I will 
not suffer myself to make any comment upon it 
in a letter addressed to your Honourable Court. 
Mr. Buller adds, 66 Ours" (i. e. our Cubbee) 
'* I imagine are not at present read in any parts 
of our service.' 5 

14. The observations and arguments of Mr. 
Bulier, in his letter, go to countenance an opin- 
ion that there is no obscenity in the Hindoo 
worship; that its ancient character has sud- 
denly disappeared ; or at least, if it exist in the 
derivative streams, that it is not to be found at 
the fountain head. He says that he not only 
never saw, but that he never heard of any such 
thing. Mr. Builer knows well, that if iie did 
not chnse to make inquiry, the natives would 
never let him hear any thing to their disadvan- 
tage. But I must beg leave most respectfully 
to assure your Honourable Court, that Mr. Bul- 
ler is entirely mistaken in his estimate of the 
character of the Hindoo worship. The two 
characteristics of the worship of Brama, are 
impurity and blood. The emblems of the for- 
mer vice are engraved in durable sculpture ev- 
ery where en the walls of the temple. Why 
are they thus engraved? Because they consti- 
tute the very essence of the Brahminical su- 
perstition. So labour of language, no qualifi- 
cation of expression, cap ever do away this 
most notorious fact. I would add, that there ii 
not a single authentic historian of the Hindoo 
manners and religion from Tavernier down to 
this tifiue, who has ventured to dissemble it, 



26 



LETTER U 



10. Having said thus much on subjects which 
Mr. Duller controverts, I think it fit now to no- 
lice a subject which he does not controvert, 
namely, the horrible effects of the concourse of 
Pilgrims at Juggernaut, Mr. Buller considers 
" that the pilgrims come from all parts of Hin- 
dost an, from upwards of 1600- miles distance ; 
and that a large proportion of these consist of 
the old and infirm, who come for the express 
purpose of laying their bones within the pre- 
cincts of the city. 55 He further argues, that 
even if there were ten immolations at a single 
festival, it would not be surprising, considering 
the extent of the population ; " for I suppose,' 9 
he adds, " the whole of the Hindoo popula- 
tion, as far as Cabul, to be not much sjiort of 
two hundred millions. 55 

16. Mr. Buller would maintain the proposi- 
tion, " that the imposition of the tax diminishes 
the number of pilgrims. 55 But the events of 
this last year render this proposition very ques- 
tionable. I would observe in the mean time, 
that Mr. Buller would place the policy of the 
tax on a new ground, namely, "the diminution 
of the number of pilgrims, and the consequent 
prevention of famine and death. 55 Unfortu- 
nately for this argument, it is a well-known 
fact, that while the temple was under the na- 
tive dominion, when the tax on admission was 
higher than it is now, and when a discipline was 
preserved among the people which we would 
not think it right to exert, the concourse of pil- 
grims was yet immense, in peaceable times in- 
credibly great, and the consequent evils in the 
necessary proportion. Mr. Buller describes the 



LETTER I. 



27 



istate of Juggernaut, about 1805, in the follow? 
ing words : " During the time that access was 
allowed to the temple without the tax, the 
throng of people at the place was so great, and 
such a considerable number of the poorer classes 
took that opportunity of visiting the temple, 
that I was informed that several persons perish- 
ed from actual want of subsistence. The scenes 
on the road were, I am told, truly shocking.* 
But since the tax has been continued, the num- 
bers of the pilgrims, particularly of the lower 
classes, have considerably diminished.'' — " 1 
should regret to see the tax abolished, as the 
abolition of it would render it difficult to re- 
strain and regulate the numerous bodies of pil- 
grims who resort to the place ; and it would in 
all probability be the cause of the revival of 
those horrid scenes of distress which were be- 
fore experienced, when the tax was discontinu- 
ed, and of which the traces are still to be met 
with in the numerous human bones on the 
road." 

17. Your Honourable Court will be concern- 
ed to hear that the accounts lately received re- 
present the state of Juggernaut as being more 
shocking than ever. The " revival of those 
horrid scenes," which Mr. Buller only antici- 
pated from the abolition of the tax, has taken 
place during its continuance. In the Periodi- 
cal Accounts recently published, which have 
been transmitted by the Baptist Mission in In- 
dia, there is a communication from the corres- 

* These scenes took place just previously to Dr. . 
Buchanan's visit to Juggernaut, which was in 1806= 



LETTER I. 



pondents of the Society in Orissa, Messrs. Pe- 
ter, Smith, and Green. Mr. Peter had been 
stationed for some time as Missionary at Bala- 
sore, from whence he proceeded to preach at 
Buddruck, Gaj-poora, and Cuttack, in his way 
towards Juggernaut. He states, that the an- 
xiety of the pilgrims to hear him explain the 
Christian faith (for he is a native born, of dark 
complexion, and speaks the language like them- 
selves) was unaccountably great: that their 
avidity to receive copies of the Holy Scrip- 
tures was extreme; and that it was altogether 
beyond his ability to supply the demand. He 
adds, that the English Colonel and his officers 
have been present on those occasions. Messrs. 
Smith and Green write from Cuttack, that the 
worship of the idol Juggernaut had been more 
numerously attended than usual. " You would 
have been astonished," say they, " to see the 
vast number of pilgrims crossing the river at 
Cuttack. As far as the eye could reach we 
eouid not see the end of the ranks ; it put us 
in mind of an army going to battle." — « You 
can easily conceive what a multitude of men, 
women, and children must have been assembled 
at the temple, for one hundred and fifty, or 
thereabouts, to have been killed in the crowd. 
They trod one upon another in approaching the 
temple gate. Ten Sepoys per company from 
all the battalions, from Barrackpore to this 
station, had permission to visit the temple. A 
famine was produced in the country, and great 
numbers of the pilgrims died of hunger and 
thirst. We talked to some of them, but it was 
of no use. They said, whether we survive or 



LETTER I. 



2% 



not, we will see the temple of Juggernaut be- 
fore our death. Numbers killed themselves by 
falling under the wheels of the idol's ear. 
They laid themselves fiat on their backs, for 
the very purpose of being crushed to death by 
it."* The number of the pilgrims here said 
to have been killed in the crowd, may perhaps 
be overstated, as the writers probably received 
the report of the natives. But if two-thirds 
of the number were deducted, the horrible cir- 
cumstances of the case remain the same. 

18. I shall add the testimony of Dr. Carey 
on the subject of the consumption of human 
lives at Juggernaut at this time. I need not 
add, that Dr. Carey is a man of unquestiona- , 
ble integrity ; that he has been long held in es- 
timation by the most respectable characters in 
Bengal, and possesses very superior opportuni- 
ties of knowing what is passing in India gener- 
ally. In a letter lately received, he thus ex- 
presses himself : 

" Idolatry destroys more than the sword, yet 
in a way which is scarcely perceived. The 
numbers who die in their long pilgrimages, 
either through want or fatigue, or from dysen- 
teries and fevers caught by lying out, and want 
of accommodation, is incredible. I only men- 
tion one idol, the famous Juggernaut in Orissa, 
to which twelve or thirteen pilgrimages are 
made every year. It is calculated that the 
number who go thither is, on some occasions, 
600,000 persons, and scarcely ever less than 
100,000. I suppose, at the lowest calculation* 

* Periodical Accounts of Baptist Mission, No, xxiii. 
3* 



30 



LETTER I. 



that, in the year, 1,200,000 persons attend. 
Now. if only one in ten died, the mortality caus- 
ed by this one idol would be 120,000 in a year; 
but some are of opinion that not many more 
than one in ten survive, and return home again. 
Besides these, I calculate that 10,000 women 
annually burn with the bodies of their deceased 
husbands, and the multitudes destroyed in oth- 
er methods would swell the catalogue to an ex- 
tent almost exceeding credibility."* 

With regard to the number of women who 
burn themselves annually in India, there are 
two circumstances which render it probable, 
tfiat it is at least as great as Dr. Carey com- 
putes it. The first is, that Mr. Buller, who 
was long Secretary to the Board of Revenue in 
India, has calculated that the population, ex- 
tending as far as Cabul, is not much short of 
" two hundred millions." The other circum- 
stance is, that a Report has arrived, printed in 
Bengal at the press of the Missionaries (and 
your Honourable Court knows the attention of 
your Bengal Government to every thing that is 
printed there,) stating, that u Seventy Females 
had burned themselves in the months of May 
and June last, between Cossimbazar (about two 
hundred miles above Calcutta) and the mouth 
of the Hooghly river, leaving one hundred and 
eighty-four orphans." The name and age of 
every woman are given, and also the places 
where the burning took place, and where the 
orphans live. These unhappy witnesses can 



* Periodical Accounts of Baptist Mission, No. xxiii. 



LETTER I. 



Si 



satisfy those persons who may doubt the truth 
of the printed account** 

19. There is a disposition prevalent at pres- 
ent to disparage the testimony of the Christian 
Missionaries. It is supposed by their adver- 
saries that, if they can in any way impeach the 
credit of a promoter of Christianity, they gain 
somewhat in the present question. But tiie 
cause of Christianity will prevail. It will be 
found, that the nrofession of Christianity and 
a desire to promote it, are generally accom- 
panied by a love of truth. The respectability 
of the Christian Missionary will increase in this 
nation, while the character and testimony of the 
supporters of Brahma will sink and he dimin- 
ished. It is true, an ardent zeal for the diffu- 
sion of the blessings of religion will, in some 
cases, particularly in the view of impious 
scenes, excite indignation, and may produce too 
high a colouring in statement (which is exceed- 
ingly reprehensible,) and narrators may make 
mistakes in description. But still the substance 
of the facts (which they think it necessary t& 
communicate to their country in defence of the 
honour of Christianity) will remain. In like 
manner, a writer, animated by a zeal of a con- 
trary character, may be able, by the power of 
high embellishment, by noticing indifferent cir- 
cumstances and entirely suppressing others, to 
represent the idol Juggernaut as being merely- 
one of " the gay and elegant deities of Greece 
and Home f 9 but the substance of the facts, as 
stated by others, will remain the same : it will 



* See Appendix^ No, IX. 



32 



LETTER I* 



still continue true, that Juggernaut is a fountain 
of vice and misery to millions of maukind ; that 
the sanguinary and obscene character of the 
worship is in the highest degree revolting ; and 
that it will be a most happy event when our 
Christian nation shall dissolve its connection 
with that polluted place. 

20. The annual waste of human life, from 
the causes that have been mentioned, in the ter- 
ritories under the dominion of the Honourable 
the East-India Company, is a subject of appal- 
ling contemplation. Every friend of humanity 
must be often putting the question, Is this 
scene to continue forever ? Can there be no 
melioration of human existence in India ? Are 
there no means of mitigating the anguish of re- 
flection in England, when we consider that the 
desolations of Juggernaut exist under our gov- 
ernment ? Yes, we answer, there are means. 
We have seen with what avidity the Holy 
Scriptures are received by the pilgrims. These 

? pilgrims come from every part of India ; some 
-roui Cabul, a distance of 1600 miles, and some 
from Samarchand. They are the representa- 
tives of a population, amounting, as we have 
seen, to " two hundred millions. 5 ' They are 
of every caste, and many of them of no caste 
at all. The Bible is, by the inscrutable provi- 
dence of God, at hand : it has been translated 
into the languages of India. Would it not, 
then, be worthy of the East-India Company to 
order ten thousand copies to be distributed an- 
nually at Juggernaut, in any manner that pru- 
dence would justify, and experience direct, as 
a sacred return for the revenue we derive from 



LETTER II. 



8$ 



it, if it should be thought right that that reve- 
nue should still be continued ? The Scriptures 
would thus be carried to the extremities of India 
and the East. Is it possible that the shado w 
of au objection should arise against §u:h a 
measure, innoxious, as it is humane and heaven- 
ly, in its tendency ? Are we afraid that " the 
wretches who come to lay their bones within 
the precincts of Juggernaut" would mutiny and 
take away our dominion ? Would not the con- 
sequence be rather, that "the blessing of Him 
that was ready to perish" would rest upon 
you ? 

I have the honour to be, 
Honourable Sirs, 

Your most obedient Servant, 
C. BUCHANAN. 

Kirbv Hall, Borobridge, 
25th May, 1813. 



LETTER II 



TO THE COURT OF DIRECTORS OF THE HON , 
EAST-INDIA COMPANY. 

HONOURABLE SIRS, 

MY former letter to your Honourable Court 
of the 25i\i May, having been hastily called for, 
I had not time to notice a certain part of Mr. 
Buller's letter so fully as the occasion demand- 



3% 



LETTER II, 



ed. I therefore now beg permission to address 
your Honourable Court a second time. 

1. The subject to which I would now beg 
leave to direct the attention of your Honourable 
Court, is the attempt made by Mr. Buller to 
extenuate the impure character of the Hindoo 
Worship. He acknowledges that indecent em- 
blems are sculptured on the temple of Jugger- 
naut, and that he has seen them ; but he adds 
they are merely what may be seen " in repre- 
sentations of ancient sculpture.'* This is true ; 
they are of the same character with those which 
ornamented the temple of the obscene god at 
Rome. Mr. Buller has also, without doubt, 
seen the painted and engraved emblems on the 
cars of Juggernaut in Bengal. It is proper to 
observe, that in some places the Rutt, or chariot 
of the idol, as well as his temple, is covered 
with characteristic devices. At Ishera, about 
eight miles from Calcutta, the chariot of Jug* 
gernaut is freshly painted previously to the an- 
nual Rutt Jattra ; and the figures (which ex- 
ceed all conception for variety of obscenity,) 
become the objects of sensual gaze to persons of 
both sexes. It is thought necessary that the 
god should have his appropriate insignia, be- 
fore he sets out on his progress. No classical 
scholar can witness these representations with- 
out being reminded of the Phallic ceremonies. 
Now, if any man were to assert that, aftej such 
preparation and with such accompaniment, 
there was yet no impropriety in word or action 
manifested in the subsequent procession, and by 
a people too who worship the Phallus, could 
we believe him ? Tor, in endeavouring ta elieit 



LETTER II. 



35 



the truth on the subject in question, which Mr. 
Buller has agitated, and to which he has drawn 
the attention of your Honourable Court and the 
Imperial Parliament, we ought not to forget 
(and the whole nation ought at the present time 
to keep it in mind,) " That the mass of the 
Hindoo people worship an indecent emblem." 
Some sects have an allusion to it in the marks 
of cast painted on their foreheads. Some pa- 
godas assume an analogous shape.* In sacred 
groves, and in the temples of Maha-deva (the 
great god) the significant Liu gam presents it- 
self conspicuously to view. It is the daily, 
emphatical, primeval, and almost universal 
worship of the Hindoo people. For the truth 
of this fact I refer your Honourable Court to 
every civil and military officer in your service 
who has passed through Hindostan ; and to 
every historian of the customs and superstition 
of the Hindoos that can be produced. 

2. The Rutt Jattra bears some analogy to 
the ancient feasts of Bacchus. Learned men 
entertain no doubt of the fact. " The worship 
of Bacchus was the same as that which is paid 
to Siva. It had the same obscenities, the same 
bloody rites, and the same emblem of the gene- 
rative power."t An author well versed in the 
mythology of the South of India, expressly calls 
the Rutt at the temple of Ramisseram " the 
car of Bacchus/'^ The temple of Ramisseram 

* Paolino, p. 379. 

f Asiatic Researches, vol. viii. p. 50. 
t " The triumphal cars, employed to carry sL^cut the 
images of their gods oft days of solemnity, are also of 



36 



LETTER II 



is also within the territories of the East India 
Company, and is nearly as famous in the South, 
&s Juggernaut is in the North, of .India. A 
particular account of the scenes exhibited at 
the Rutt Jattra of that place, may, 1 under- 
stand, be soon expected. Iii the mean time the 
Rev. Mr. Cordinerls narrative may suffice. 
That gentleman describes the " Swamy Coach- 
es" or Rutts at Ramisseram, Which place he 
visited in 1804, in the following terms : " The 
outside is covered with an extraordinary assem- 
blage of obscene images representing lewd and 
indecent scenes too scandalous in the eyes of 
an European to admit of a description. Each 
carriage has four wheels of solid wood, and re- 
quires two hundred men to draw it. When 
they are dragged along the streets, on occasions 
of great solemnity, women, in the phrenzy of 
false devotion, throw themselves down before the 

beautiful workmanship. Some of these cars cost from 
20 to 30,0.00 rupees. Of this kind is the car of Bacchus, 
in the temple Ramanacoil (or Ramisseram) on the boun- 
daries of the Kingdom of Marava. There are others of 
like kind also at Tiruvancoda, Cangi-puri and Ju~ 
garnat. "—Paoli?w, p. 390. 

".Besides these grand festivals, there are several 
others ; such as the Shiva-ratri or the Night of Shiva ; 
on which the Phallophoria ceremonies that relate to the 
worship of the Lingam are celebrated. On this occa. 
sion all the inhabitants of both sexes hasten in great 
numbers to the temple of Shiva or Maha-deva ; remain 
there the whole night ; sing all sorts of indecent songs 
in honor of the Lingam ; go a hundred times in solemn 
procession around the temple or around a tree, under 
which a Lingam is placed ; and carry about with them, 
.at the same time, a wooden representation of the Lin- 
gam amidst dancing and singing."— jPaolino; p. 361. 



LETTER II. 



37 



wheels, and are crushed to death by their tre- 
mendous weight, the same superstitious mad- 
ness preventing the ignorant crowd from mak- 
ing any attempt to save them." — Cor diner's 
History of Ceylon, voL ii. p. 1 6'. 

3. It ought further to be observed, that the 
Phallic worship includes the Hindoo Triad, 
Brahma, Vishnoo, and Sheva. The pedestal 
is the type of Brahma, the Yoni that of Vish- 
noo, and the Lingam or Phallus that of Sheva.* 
And so peculiar are the effects of this impure 
w orship on the minds of the Hindoos, that they 
are disposed to symbolize the objects of nature 
in a manner analogous to it. If a man digs a 
pond, he considers it as a Yoni, or emblem of 
female nature, and he consecrates it by fixing 
in it a mast decorated w ith a chaplet of flowers. 
The sea, or well or cave, conveys a similar 
type. A mountain, obelisk, or any thing coni- 
cal, excites the idea of the Lingam. t Thus, in 
like manner as Christians spiritualize natural 
scenes for an edifying purpose, the Hindoos 
sensualize the objects of nature. 

4. It seem worth while to consider what was 
the ultimate object of Mr. Buller, in addressing 
your Honourable Court, and through you the 
Council of the Nation, on the rites of Jugger- 
naut. It could not be merely to describe more 
accurately the circumstances of a Hindoo festi- 
val ; or, to offer an opinion respecting the sculp- 
tures on the temple, for the satisfaction of the 
antiquary. Had these been his objects, I should 

* Sonnerat, vol. i. p. 179 . 
f Moov's Hindu Pantheon, p. 3?9. 
4? 



38 



LETTER II. 



not have been disposed to notice them. But 
his purpose seems to me to have been, to excul- 
pate the Hindoo worship from the charge of 
blood and impurity, in order that our Christian 
nation might feel itself justified in leaving tiie 
Hindoo peop!e as they are — involved in a bane- 
ful superstition. 

5. in regard to the charge of blood, the sev- 
enty immolations of females in Bengal in the 
months of May and June last, just brought be- 
fore the public, will be a sufficient answer.* 
The same proportion of human life is supposed 
to be devoted to destruction in the same way 
every current month. This is a horrid and 
painful recital to the feelings of the nations i 
The cry of such blood, arising from a country 
placed under a Christian administration, cannot 
fail to enter the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth. 

6. As to the impurity of the Hindoo worship, 
all the argument of Mr. Buller-in extenuation of 
it is, (without referring at present to its obvi- 
ous principle,) that when he happened to be at 
Juggernaut, he did not see any thing improper 
in t he scene. , He admits, indeed, that he might 
have heard the C^ft^.had he been near enough. 
But of what consequence is it whether there be 
a cessation of indecency at times before Euro- 
peans at Juggernaut or not ? If there were 
even a complete cessation, what, I would ask, 
is the occasional exhibition of indecency at a 
public festival, compared to the common, con- 
stant, characteristic impure worship of the 

n Is Mr. Buiicr prepared to inform as. 



* See Appendix, No. IX. 



LETTER II. 



39 



that the worship the Lingam has ceased ? 
or that it has been diminished in his lime ? or 
that lie indulges the smallest hope that it ever 
will be diminished ? Why then need he be at 
pains to make the Hindoos appear a chaste and 
decorous people in the eyes of the English, when 
his own eyes must have witnessed their impure 
worship times without number ? 

7- Every man who has studied the genius of 
the Hindoo superstition, knows that the con- 
templation of indecent emblems, from early 
youth, is a fountain of licentiousness to the 
people. The prostitution of the heart to sen- 
sual images in the daily worship, is the deep, 
copious, prolific source of general impurity of 
heart, and indecency of speech and action.™ 
With such an ordinance of worship prescribed 
from infancy, can we believe it possible that any 
people should consider laciviousness as a sin 
against God ? They might indeed consider it 
as a sin against public reputation, and against 
political principle ; for the policy of the rade-l 
nations will restrain community of vice. But 
that the Hindoos in general account lascivious- 
ness a sin against God, is what I think the 
boldest advocate for their religion will not ven- 
ture to aiiirai * 

* "It is probable that the idea of obscenity was not 
originally attached to these cymbals; and it is likely 
that the inventors themselves might not have foreseen 
the disorders which this worship would occasion a- 
mong-st mankind. Profligacy easily embraces what 
flatters its propensities, and ignorance follows blindly 
wherever example excites. It is therefore lib wonder 
that a general corruption of manners should ensue, m- 



40 



LETTER II. 



8. Let our Christian natijn then behold the 
greater part of the Hindoo people, a hundred 
million, at least, of our fel!ovv-cratures, falling 
prostrate before a black stone, and that black 
stone an indecent emblem ! Let us imagine the 
females decorating it, according to their con- 
stant custom, with flowers ! Let us contem- 
plate the probable efFeels, (without any specific 
relation) of such a worship on the general mo- 
rals of the people ; and then let us deny to In- 
dia the instruction of Christianity, if we can. 

9. One argument urged sometimes by the 
European defenders of the Phallic worship is, 
That young persons do not understand the em- 
blems, as they are not exhibited entirely in the 
natural form. But where is the sense of sup- 
posing a person worshipping emblems which 
he does not understand? One should think, 
that the very first business of the Brahmins 
would be to make the pubescent youth under- 
stand them. Besides, is it not admitted that 
the people pronounce at their festivals certain 
licentious songs, which must soon explain the 
supposed mysteries ;« — admired and familiar 
songs consecrated by religion and ancient use ? 
Ancient they doubtless are, and bear a strict 
analogy to the Phallica Asmata, the Phalli© 
songs of Greece and Egypt. 

creasing* in proportion as the distance of time involved 
the original meaning' of the syvnbal in darkness and ob* 
livion Obscene mirth became the -principal 'feature of 
the popular superstition, and was even, in after times* 
extended to and intermingled with gloomy rites and 
bloody sacrifices."— Mat. lies, vol, viii. p. 55, 



LETTER II. 



10. But the grand apology of certain philoso- 
phers for the worship of the Lingam and its 
companion, has been, that they are merely 
symbols of the procreative power of the Deity ; 
and therefore that the worshippers may have 
very sublime conceptions, and cherish very pure 
thoughts, notwithstanding the presence of such 
objects. I do not, however, believe that there 
exists a philosopher among us, who will now 
seriously avow and defend the proposition. That, 
the constant exhibition of sensual images will 
not taint the purity of the youthful mind.* 

LI. The only object which 1 can conceive Mr. 
Buller to have had in writing the letter which 
lias been laid before Parliament, is that of in- 
sinuating that the Hindoos are not imbued by 
such impure principles as has been asserted, 
and that therefore it need give us no pain to 
see them remain as they are. It becomes neecs 
sary, tl^refore, on the other I Kind, to assert 
the truth ; and (however painful it must be to 
the pure mind) to reveal the whole scene of 
the polluted worship of Brahma, in its princi- 

* " The Sacte of Siva, whoso emblem is the Phallas, 
is herself typified by the female organ. This 
Sactas worship ; some figuratively — others lit:: r ally." 
In this last mentioned sect " ( he Sactas) as in most 
others, there is a right-handed and decent path, and a 
left-handed and indecent mode of worship ; but: the in- 
decent worship of this sect is most grossly so, and con- 
sists of unbridled debauchery with wine and women." 
" They require their wives to be naked when attending 
them at their devotions." — See Mr. Colebrook on the 
Ueli^ious Ceremonies of the Hindoos. *4s. IK'S. v i. 
$p\ 2'dO, 281. . 

4* 



42 



LETTER IT, 



pie, essence, origin, and practice. Let us only 

suppose (to bring this matter home to our feel- 
ings.) that the youth of both sexes in Great 
B'fitaks were brought to the temple, and in- 
structed 5o worship indecent symbols ; and what 
krqst he the effect on their mora! habits! Is 
it theii to be regarded as either decent or hu- 
mane to labour to perpetuate this unseemly 
worship of our fei low-subjects in India by ex- 
cluding true religion; or to endeavour to ex- 
tenuate its moral turpitude in the face of a 
nation' professing the pure religion of Jesus 
Christ ? 

12. Mr. Buller has told us, that he saw ob- 
scene sculptures on the walls of Juggernaut; 
but h us not told us what he heard of the scenes 
within. Had he wished to give the English 
nation a just idea of the worship of Brahma, 
there are two circumstances of a fundamental 
character in relation to that Worship, which he 
would no doubt have mentioned in the outset, 
viz. 

First, The band of courtesans retained for 
the service of the temple. These form a part 
of the religious procession in the public streets 
on certain days, and are kept in every great 
temple of Hindostan. From infancy they are 
prepared by education and elegant accomplish- 
menis i:-;- public reduction. Now, these priest- 
esses form tl character of the worship, "be- 
ing consecrated,' 5 says Soimerat, 64 to the hon- 
our of the gods. 55 They are the ministers of 
the idol, arid it is a part of their service 44 to 
sing hymns to his praise." Is Mr. Bulier then 
'prepared to inform us that this character of the 



LETTER IU 



worship is abolished, and that the courtesans 
at Juggernaut do not receive the accustomed 
stipend presented, with other charges, for the 
sanction of the English Government ? He knows 
that we might as well attempt to raze the tower 
of Juggernaut from its foundations as attempt 
to remove this constituent part of the Brahmini- 
cal ritual. And thus it is throughout the ex- 
tensive regions of the Hindoo idolatry — the 
ministration of the priestesses being a natural 
fruit of the worship of the Lin gam. Does not 
this admitted fact alone set the question at rest 
respecting the character of the worship in cjues- 
tion? In regard, however, to its moral effects; 
for that, after all, is the main object to be con- 
sidered: let us only suppose that the youth of 
Great Britain, of both sexes, were accustomed 
to worship at the altar in company with a band 
of impure females, invested with a sacred cha- 
racter, and then to witness the songs and dances 
of those females in the same place, and what 
would be the character of the people of this 
country in a few years ? 

Second : In my printed account of the trans- 
actions at Juggernaut, I wished to state merely 
what I myself saw 5 and therefore, as I was not 
within the temple, I have not thought fit to 
mention what I heard. But Mr. Buller having 
resided for some time at the place, and having 
held while there a high official station, must 
have had various opportunities of obtaining 
satisfactory information as to the character of 
the scenes within the temple, particularly at 
certain festivals; and under such circumstances 
he might have stated what he had heard to the 



1 



44/ 



LETTER II. 



public with perfect confidence. Is all then, ac- 
cording to Mr. Bullers information and belief, 
pure, is all decorous, within the temple ? And, 
if it be not, what signifies it w hether, at certain 
festivals, the ministering priest used unseemly 
attitudes in the presence of the European super- 
intendant or not ? If there actually be impurity 
66 within," in the sacred place — in the recess of 
sanctity— how can a vindication of Jugger- 
naut remove this corner-stone from Brahma's 
temple ?* 

* That the worship of Brahma is constitutionally 
impure, is demonstrated by the following fact. There 
are temples of consecration for a life of impurity ; these 
exist at Cambaya, Tivjkarey, and other places, in Hin- 
dostan. Tavernier first, 1 believe-, among- Protestant 
authors, (he was a French Protestant merchant,) men- 
tioned the existence of the system. 44 From Cambaya,* 5 
says he, " you go to a little village distant some three 
coss, where there is a pagod, to which all the Indian 
courtisans come to make their offerings. This pagod 
is full of a great number of naked images. Among the 
rest, there is a large figure of one that seems to resem- 
ble Apollo, with his parts all uncovered." — Girls of 
eleven or twelve years old, who have been bought and 
educated for the purpose, are sent by their mistresses 
to this pagod, " to offer and surrender themselves up 
to this idol." — [Tavernier's Travels in India, p. ;>7 3 fol. 
ed. 1678.] For the import of this last expression, see 
Anquetil du Perron's description of the pagoda of Tivi- 
kary, and of the rite observed by iC les jeunes Brahmi- 
nes," in his Zend A vesta, vol. i. p. 29. — From these tem- 
ples of consecration, issue females for the other pago- 
das and for the general Indian public. Thus we see 
that there exists in this world a superstition, whose 
principle is u to hallow impurity." But surely Athe- 
ism itself will not defend a system which would sancti- 
ty the aQt of wickedness by a solemn rite of religion. 



L.ETTER II. 



45 



13. I would not impute a bad motive to those 
Asiatic gentlemen who maintain a different 
opinion from me on these subjects. Much al- 
lowance is to be made for the effects of an im- 
perfect education previously to leaving Eng- 
land, and for the constitutional habits which 
grow upon men by long intercourse with Indian 
scenes, and which, in some instances, have 
changed the very principles and character ; 
but I apprehend, that those who labour to ex- 
tenuate the atrocities of the Hindoo idolatry 
may be justly charged with two most serious 
delinquencies: — First, by defending and con- 
firming a sanguinary and obscene superstition, 
they are in effect guilty of the utmost cruelty 
towards whole nations of men ; — and secondly, 
they are guilty of a culpable indifference to 
the truth and excellency of the Christian re- 
ligion. 

1 have the honour to be, 
Honourable Sirs, 

Your obedient Servant, 

C. BUCHANAN. 

Kirbv Hall, Borobridgc, 
8th June, 1313. 



Tavern Icr was at Cambnya about 164-0. What a vast 
and extended scene of turpitude, amongst our fellow- 
creatures, presents itself to the imagination from that 
time to tliis ! Is it possible that any man w hose mind 
lias been cultivated under the influence (in the least 
degree) of Christian principles, can permit himself to 
say of such a system, Let it flourish •> let it continue 
for ages ! 



LETTER AND MEMORIAL, 

TO 

LORD MINTO. 



LETTER. 

TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD MINTO, 
&.C. &.c. &c. 

MY LOKDj 

I BEG leave respectfully to submit to your 
Lordship some particulars regarding the pres- 
ent state of the Christian Religion in Bengal, 
which I have thought it my duty to communi- 
cate for your Lordship's information at this 
time. 

1 trust your Lordship will do me the justice 
to believe that it is with the utmost reluctance 
I trouble your Lordship with a letter on such a 
subject so soon after your entrance on this 
government, when as yet few, if any, of the 
circumstances noticed in it can have come to 
your Lordship's knowledge. 



MEMORIAL. 



I have no other view in soliciting your Lord- 
ship's attention to them, but the advancement 
of learning and religion. Perhaps no one has 
addressed your Lordship on the subject since 
your arrival ; and there are certainly many 
particulars regarding their present state, which 
it is of importance your Lordship should know, 

Being about to leave India, I feared lest I 
should hereafter reproach myself, if I withheld 
any thing at this time which I conceived might 
be useful, particularly as I have been further 
encouraged to address your Lordship, by your 
Lordship's known condescension in receiving 
any communications which are honestly in- 
tended. 

I have the honour to be, my Lord, 
With much respect, 
Your most obedient, humble servant, 

(Signed) C. BUCHANAN. 

Calcutta, 
9th November, 1807. 



MEMORIAL. 

TO THE JU6HT HON". GILBERT, LORD MINTQ, 
GOVERNOR-GENERAL, &c. &c. &c. 

IvIY LORD, 

1* I HAD the honour to receive a letter 
from the Chief Secretary to the Govern- 
ment, under date the 11th September, desiring 



43 



MEMORIAL* 



tluit I would submit, for the inspection of Gov- 
ernment, the manuscript of some Sermons on 
the Prophecies, which I intended to publish. 
I shall . willingly submit these discourses to 
your Lordship's perusal, and shall be happy 
to receive such observations on them as your 
Lordship's learning and candour may suggest ; 
hut I cannot submit them to the judgment of 
the Officers of the Government. My reasons 
for declining to comply with the wishes of 
Government in this respect, it is incumbent on 
me to state ; and I feel confident your Lord- 
ship will consider them to be satisfactory. 

2. It Will not have escaped your Lordship's 
observation, even in the short period since your 
arrival, that some of the officer's of your Lord- 
ship's government do not manifest any zeal for 
promoting the knowledge of the Christian Re- 
ligion in India : they consider, that a zeal in 
this respect would not be consonant to a wise 
and prudent policy. 1 am willing to believe 
that they advise according to the best of their 
judgment; but a principle pure and just in it- 
self, if it be^not tenderly exercised in reference 
to other important obligations, may become ex- 
travagant or pernicious. For instance, not to 
promote Christianity may, in certain circum- 
stances, be prudent ; but to repress Christianity 
will not, I think, in any case, be defended. It 
is not necessary to observe to your Lordship 
how much the minds of Europeans assimilate 
to the native character after a long residence 
in this country, and bow difficult it is for men, 
even of good sense and honest intentions, while 
involved in the mist of this prejudice, to view 
the Christian religion in the true light. 



MEMORIAL. 



49 



3. During the administration of the Marquis 
W eliesley, the spirit of promoting learning and 
religion in India was general and ardent; but 
after the departure of that nohiermm, a great 
revolution took place. A spirit, directly ad- 
verse to the diffusion of religion in India, most 
unexpectedly broke forth, just as if it had been 
confined by his presence. This spirit appeared 
long before the insurrection in Vellore. I men- 
tion this, lest your Lordship should suppose 
that it originated with that event $ for I under- 
stood that the " Masscre at Vellore" has been 
unaccountably adduced as some sanction to the 
principle of opposing the progress of the Chris- 
tian Religion in Bengal. 1 had opportunities 
of judging of the causes of that event, which 
were peculiar. I was in the vicinity of the 
place at the time; I travelled fjr two months 
immediately afterwards in the provinces adja- 
cent, with the sanction of Government ; and I 
heard the evidence of Christians, Mahometans, 
and Hindoos, on the subject. That the insur- 
rection at Vellore had no connection w ith the 
Christian Religion, directly or indirectly, im- 
mediately or remotely, is a truth which is ca- 
pable of demonstration. 

4. The spirit so hostile to the progress of 
Christianity in India, appeared first in opera- 
tion about two years ago, and has been acquir- 
ing strength ever since. It has exhibited itself 
in a series of acts, the recital of which will suf- 
ficiently illustrate to your Lordship the temper 
of mind which produced them. These acts are, 
however, not to be considered as the official 
and ackro pledged measures of the respectable 

5 



BO 



MEMORIAL. 



person, who preceded your Lordship in the 
government. Sir George Barlow has often 
expressed his approbation of the means used for 
the diffusion of Christianity in India, and he 
sincerely desires its success. These measures 
have not been generally considered as the off- 
spring of his unbiassed judgment. Besides^ 
most of them are extra official, and with some 
of them he is perhaps yet unacquainted. They 
will probably appear to your Lordship to have 
been dictated by a timorous policy, proceeding 
from minds somewhat agitated by the responsi- 
bility of a weighty empire, viewing at the same 
time Christianity as an innovation in India, 
and magnifying that innovation, perhaps^ into 
a revolution. The acts which have plainly 
manifested this alarm are many. It will suf- 
fice to notice to your Lordship the four follow- 
ing : 

6. First. The withdrawing the patronage of 
Government from the translation -of the Holy 
Scriptures into the Oriental Tongues. 

The translation of the Scriptures had com- 
menced in the College of Fort William, at the 
expense of Government. When the Honoura- 
ble the Court of Directors directed a reduction 
of the expenses of that institution, it was re- 
solved to make provision for the continuation 
of the translation of the Scriptures by public 
subscription, and to exonerate the Government 
entirely. It was accordingly proposed that a 
Committee of the College and of others should 
superintend the translations, and eontroul the 
expenditure. This measure had been recom- 
mended by certain of tfee bishops, and by some 



MEMORIAL, 



noble persons in England, who wished to aid 
us in the translation of the Scriptures $ and the 
countenance of the College was merely desired, 
with the view that the important work might 
he conducted strictly in the principles of the 
national church, and not fall entirely into the 
hands of dissenters, as it has since done. Your 
Lordship will be surprised to hear that this 
proposition was rejected. Government with- 
drew its patronage from the work entirely, and 
even refused to give its countenance to the sub- 
scription. The immediate consequences of this 
unexpected blow was the loss of ample funds ; 
for there appeared at the time, throughout all 
India, a disposition to encourage a literary un- 
dertaking which was deemed so honourable to 
the nation. 

Considering the difficulty of obtaining fit in- 
struments for the conduct of such a work, the 
religious and moral importance of the work it- 
self, and its advantages to the general interests 
of Oriental Literature, your Lordship will be- 
lieve, that this forfeiture of public encourage- 
ment, under such auspicious circumstances, has 
ever been viewed with regret by the friends of 
learning and of religion in Europe and in India, 

This disappointment, however, has had one 
favourable result ; it accelerated the establish- 
ment of " the Christian Institution in the 
East,"* which carries the translation of the 

* Early in 1806, in the view of the Translations of 
the Scriptures ceasing" in the College of Fort William, 
Br. Buchanan resolved to devote whatever influence he 
possessed in his official character as Vice-Provast of 



o2 



MEMORIAL. 



Scriptures, in some of the languages, into re- 
gions far beyond the controul of the Bengal 
Government. 

the College, to the aid of the Translations in the hands 
of the Baptist Missionaries, and to endeavour to excite 
as much of public interest in their favour as possible. 
For this purpose he drew up " Proposals for a Subscrip- 
tion for translating* the Holy Scriptures into the follow- 
ing Oriental Languages : Shanscrit, Bengalee, Hindoos- 
tav.ee, Persian, Jllahratta, Guzerattee, Orissa, Camata, 
Tel 'in g a, Burmah, Assam, Boot an, Tibet, Malay and 
Chinese " — containing a prospectus of Indian versions, 
and observations on the practicability of the general 
design : signed by the nine Baptist Missionaries, and 
dated " Mission-House, Serampore, March, 1806." — 
That paper was composed entirely by Dr Buchanan, 
part*'6f it from materials furnished by the Missionaries. 
But as it was apprehended the name " Baptist" might 
not be auspicious to the design, in the general view of 
the public, Dr. Buchanan did not admit that word, but 
designated them " Protestant Missionaries in Bengal;" 
lis it stands in the proposals. Copies were distributed 
liberally in India and in England. To some of those 
distributed in England was prefixed a frontispiece Re- 
presenting a Hindoo receiving the Bible, and '* bending 
to the Christian Faith." Copies were transmitted to 
almost the whole of the principal civil officers, and to 
many of the military officers in the Honorable Compa- 
ny's service throughout Hindustan, from Delhi to Tra- 
vancore ; many of whom had never heard of the Seram- 
pore Mission before. Dr. Buchanan obtained permis- 
sion, at the same time, to send the proposals, in his of- 
ficial character as Vice -Provost of the College, free of 
expence, to all parts of the empire ; and he accompa- 
nied them, in most instances, with a letter from him- 
self The design received encouragement from e ve- 
ry quarter; and a sum of about 1600 pounds vyas 
soon raised for the translations ; to which the late Rev. 
David Brown contributed 250 pounds. 

The concurrence of the public was the more easily 
obtained from its being 1 implied in' the proposals that 



MEMORIAL, 



6. Second. Attempting to suppress tire trans- 
lation of the vScriptures. 

the undertaking would enjoy the countenance of the 
College. That expectation was expressed in the fol- 
lowing terms : 

" Par. 11. Our hope of success in this great under- 
taking depends chiefly on the patronage of the College 
of Fort William. To that institution we are much in- 
debted for the progress we have already made. Orien- 
tal translation has become comparatively easy, in con- 
sequence of our having the aid of those learned men 
from distant provinces in Asia, who have assembled, 
daring the period of the last six years, at that great 
.emporium of Eastern Letters. These intelligent stran- 
gers voluntarily engage with us in translating the Scrip- 
tures into their respective languages ; and they do not 
conceal their admiration of the sublime doctrine, pure 
precept, and Divine eloquence of the word of God, 
The plan of these translations was sanctioned at an ear- 
ly period by the Most Noble the Marquis Wellesiey, 
the great patron of useful learning. To give the Chris- 
tian Scriptures to the inhabitants of Asia is indeed a 
work which every man, who believes these Scriptures 
to be from God, will approve. In Hindostan alone, 
there is a great variety of religions ; and there are some 
tribes which have no certain cast or religion at all. To 
render the revealed religion accessible to men who 6 de- 
sire' it ; to open its eternal sanctions, and display its 
pure morals to those wko 6 seek a religion' ; is to fulfil 
die sacred duty of a Christian people, and accords well 
With the humane & generous spirit of theEnglish nation. 

" 12. It may also be expected, that the design will 
be generally encouraged, on the ground of its promoting 
the diffusion of Oriental Literature, and affording new 
facilities to Europeans in obtaining a knowledge of the 
various languages of this great empire. With every 
Translation of the Scriptures into a new language, it is 
intended to give a grammar of that language, if none 
already exist. 

" 13. A copy of these Proposals has been forwarded 
to the British Ambassador at Petersburg, with a ie- 
5* 



0* 



MEMORIAL. 



An attempt was next made to suppress the 
translation of the Scriptures entirely, and this 
attempt had almost succeeded. 

quest that he would submit them to his Majesty the 
Emperor of all the Russias ; some of the languages 
above mentioned being- spoken in regions bordering on 
the territories of his Majesty " 

Although the Government of Bengal withdrew its 
patronage, most of the individuals in every part of In- 
dia whose support was then secured, being satisfied 
that the simple translation of the Holy Scriptures must 
ever be a measure utterly devoid of objection, have con- 
tinued steady friends to the undertaking to this day. 

Afterwards, when Dr. Buchanan visited the southern 
regions of India, and had witnessed the triumph of 
Christianity on the one hand, and the horrors of Pagan- 
ism on the other, he conceived the design of an institu- 
tion of a more general nature for Oriental Illumination, 
than that confined to Bengal. [See his meditation on 
the banks of the Chiika Lake, on a Sunday morning, in 
view of the tower of Juggernaut — Chris. Res. p. 142.1 
And on his return to Calcutta in the following year, he 
proposed to the Baptist Mission, that the dine rent so- 
cieties and individuals in India, engaged in translating* 
the Scriptures, should associate (merely in that cha- 
racter) under the name of " The Christian Institution 
in the East," or the "British Propaganda;" in older 
that their operations might have the appearance of be- 
ing national and not sectarian ; and that thus they 
might be able to vie with the " Romish Propaganda," 
whose fame is yet alive in Asia. It was proposed that 
the Missionary pursuits, properly so called, and the 
individual establishments of each society should remain 
peculiar and private as before : but that the translators 
of the Scriptures should act in concert, and maintain 
an amicable correspondence with each other, under the 
general superintendence of the Rev. Mr. Brown, Pro- 
vost of the College of Fort William, who had formerly? 
in discharge of his office as Provost, superintended the 
translations oftLe Scriptures m.tue College ; and would. 



MEMORIAL. 



55 



To suppress the translation of the Scrip- 
tures, is to suppress the Scriptures. I can 
make no further observation on this, in addres- 
sing your Lordship. 

now continue to be the organ of communication to Go- 
vernment, and be responsible for the views and proceed- 
ings of the general society. This proposition the Bap- 
tist Society declined ; and in consequence, the propos- 
ed name of " Christian Institution" was but partially as- 
sumed. The other branches, nevertheless, were gene- 
rally associated ; and the Rev. Mr. Brown superintend- 
ed those branches of the department of Scriptural 
Translation, as they came successively into operation, 
to the day of his death, viz. the Rev. Henry Martyii and 
his co-adjutors Sabat and Mirza Fitrut, translators of 
the IRndoostanee and Arabic, at Cawnpore ; Messrs. 
Cran and Desgranges, translators of the Telinga, at 
Visagapatam ; Thomas Jarrett, Esq. translator of the 
Sumatra or Western Malay, at Madras ;* the Syrian 
Bishop and his priests, translators of the Matay-aHm, 
at Travancore ; Sebastiani, translator of the Persian, at 
Calcutta; and Dr. Leyden of the College of Fort Wil- 
liam, translator of the Pushtu, JWaldivian, Baloch, A la- 
vas sar, and Bugis languages. Mr. Brown also opened 
a correspondence with Tanjore, Tranquebar, and Co- 
lumbo, concerning editions of the Scriptures in the 
Tamul and Cingalese. 

Exclusive of the 1600 pounds above-mentioned to 
have been subscribed for translations by the Baptist 
Missionaries, Dr. Buchanan had put dow n his name for 
5000 rupees, 620 pounds ; but after his return from 
visiting* the Christians in Travancore and other places, 
he withdrew his subscription from the Northern Mission 
which was now well patronised, and appiie d it to simi- 
lar objects in the South, where it was most wanted. 

* /Jr. Buchanan does not knoiv •whetliev Cttr. Jarrett co . 
tinned to prosecute the translation afier he ?<fi India. 



MEMORIAL. 



7, Third. Suppressing the encomium of the 
Hon. the Court of Directors, on their venera- 
ble missionary the Rev. Mr. Swartz. 

The Honourable Court had sent out to Fort 
St. George a marble monument, to be erected 
in the church of St. Mary, to the memory of 
Mr. Swartz, inscribed with a suitable epitaph 5 
and they announced it, in their general letter, 
dated 29th October 1806, as a testimony of the 
deep sense they entertained of his transcendant 
merit, of his unwearied labours in the cause of 
religion and piety, and of his public services at 
Tanjore, where the influence of his name and 
character was for a long course of years pro- 
ductive of important benefits to the Company, 
The Honourable Court further adds : " On no 
subject has the Court of Directors been more 
unanimous, than in their anxious desire to per- 
petuate the memory of this eminent person, and 
to excite in others an emulation of his great 
example. 5 ' They direct, finally, that 64 trans- 
lations shall be made of the epitaph into the 
country languages, and published at Madras, 
and that the native inhabitants shall be en- 
couraged to view the monument." 

The Christians in Bengal were of course re- 
joiced to hear of the honourable testimony \n 
the apostolic Swartz, and they expected that it 
would be acknowledged here, as at Fort St, 
George and Bombay ; but they were disap- 
pointed ; there was no recognition of the vener- 
able Missionary in Bengal. The epitaph was 
not inserted in the Calcutta Gazette, nor was 
the slightest notice taken of the circumstance. 
And lest it might be supposed that it was 



MEMORIAL. ' 57 

omitted by accident, the official notice of the 
Governor in Council at Fort St. George, which 
appeared subsequently, relative to the day of 
commemoration, was also suppressed. 

But what followed was yet more painful. 
Your Lordship will judge of the feelings of the 
Christians in this place, when they read, in the 
Government Gazette of the week following, an 
article whose obvious tendency was to bring the 
labours and character of the Christian Mis- 
sionary into contempt.* Thus, while the Hon- 
ourable the East India Company were adorn- 
ing the sepulchres of their Missionaries and 
embalming their memory in the Bouth, their 
own servants were treating the character with 
indignity in the North. We were at first 
alarmed, lest this might be the signal for the. 
other papers to commence an attack on the 
' humble and defenceless Missionaries; but we 
were happy to find, that not one of the seven 
papers of this Presidency followed the example 
of the official Gazette. 

As it is not probable that any of the particu- 
lars above-mentioned, have as yet come to your 
Lordship's knowledge,! beg leave to refer your 
Lordship to the enclosed printed paper (A) 
published by the authority of the Government 
of Fort St. George. 

# * The Mission to Greenland and Labrador, whose 
civilizing efficacy on the rude inhabitants of those re- 
gions has long- been a theme of admiration to the Chris- 
tian world, is held forth in that paper to public ridi- 
cule ; and the simple narrative of the pious well-mean- 
ing Missionaries, is declared to "exhibit a degree of 
canting- fanaticism well worth v of the follovvers of 
CrumKiAV—Calcaita Gazette, Sept. IT, 1807. 



03 



MEMORIAL. 



8. Fourth. Restraining the Protestant Mis- 
sionaries in Bengal, from the exercise of their 
functions, and establishing an Imprimatur for 
theological works. 

Men's minds were prepared, by the preced- 
ing circumstances, to expect little indulgence to 
Missionaries, but they were certainly not pre- 
pared to expect the event which followed. 

The success of the Protestant Mission in 
Bengal had long been a source of uneasiness* 
to those officers of Government who do not 
think it right to convert the natives. Some ef 
the native Moonshees attached to the public 
offices, well knowing, from long acquaintance, 
their masters' sentiments on this subject, have 
not failed from time to time to urge them to 
countenance their petitions, and to lend their 
voice in accusing the Missionaries. Some 
clamour of this kind was raised at two dif- 
ferent times within the last seven years ; but it 
passed away without offence to the Christian 
Religion. The complaint of the Moonshees 
against the Missionaries, on the present occa- 
sion, is not, I understand, so serious as the 
former : they complain, that the Missionaries 
have, in a certain paper, " applied abusive 
epithets to Mahomet." The Missionaries cer- 
tainly mistake the proper method of convincing 
the minds of men, if they use epithets of abuse; 
the successful method of preaching is by argu- 
ment and affectionate address; and I presume 
this has been their general method during the 
fourteen years of their mission, else we cannot 
suppose their labours would have been followed 
with so- much success. 



MEMORIAL. 



09 



At the same time, Christian Teachers are 
not to speak with reverence or courtesy of Jug- 
gernaut or Mahomet; they must speak as the 
Scriptures speak: that is, of false gods as 
false gods, and of a lying prophet as a lying 
prophet. The Mahometans apply abusive epi- 
thets and vulgar curses to the idolatry of the 
Hindoos and to the faith of Christians, and 
these epithets are contained in hooks ; and 
Government might, on the same principle, have 
been assailed with the petitions of Christians 
and Hindoos against the Mahometans. If the 
natives choose to go to hear the preaching or 
to read the books of the Missionaries, it is their 
pleasure to do so — it is no concern of Govern- 
ment. These poor Missionaries are not official 
characters : they have no power, no authority, 
no riches ; and this the natives well know. 
They are like the first Apostles, contemned 
and despised by all casts ; and if they are be- 
reaved of the countenance of their own Govern- 
ment, tWsy are bereaved indeed. 

The complaint, however, of the Mahometans 
has produced a very serious event. The Protes- 
tant Missionaries in Bengal were prohibited, 
by order of Government dated 8th September 
last, from preaching to the natives.* 

The Protestant Mission being situated at 
Serampore, a town belonging to the King of 
Denmark, the English Government requested 

* It was generally understood that the former admi- 
nistration were unwilling to encounter the public odium 
of accomplishing' this measure ; and that, by pressing it 
with a serious countenance on Lord Minto immediately 
on his arrival, they surprised the Governor-general. 




the Danish Governor to ,give np the Mission 
Press, and ordered the. Missionaries to remove 
to Calcutta. The Danish Governor resisted 
this demand, on the plea of the sovereignty of 
his nation ;* and the English Government re- 
voked their requisition. The English Govern- 
ment then issued an order prohibiting the Mis- 
sionaries from printing any books, " directed 
to the object of converting the natives to Chris- 
tianity. 9 ' On this a question was proposed 
officially to the British Government by the 
Danish Governor; a question which your Lord- 
ship will be concerned to think should ever 
have been necessary. It was this: " Whether, 
among the books prohibited by the British 
Government, the Bible in the Bengalee language 
was included ?" The amwer to this question 
your Lordship will read with yet more con- 
cern. It was the following : " We are not 
aware of any objection to the promulgation of 
the Scriptures in the Bengalee language, unac- 
companied by any comments on the religions of 
the country:" that is, the English Government 
were not ^ aware that there was any objection 
to the publication of the Bible, yet they were 
not certain." At all events, it must have " no 



* Dr. Buchanan was misinformed in this particular. 
The Danish Governor did not, it seems, resist the de- 
mand, on the plea of the sovereignty of Ins nation, al- 
though he might have so done if it had pleased him ; 
hut he solicited the revocation of the demand, on the 
ground of "the distress to which i the Missionaries 
would be exposed by the English Government's exact- 
ing" a compliance with it," and on the ground of the 
cpuvenience of the press t© the Danish Government. 



MEMORIAL. 



61 



comment on the religious of the country that 
is, it must not be said of the Bible — "This is 
the word of the true God. and more worthy of 
belief than the Veda of Brahma :" nor must 
any illustration of its truth be noticed by refer- 
ence to the Hindoo doctrines ; for instance, by 
appealing to their own ideas of a Trinity, of 
an atonement, and of the "man twice born." 

After some consideration, the English Govern- 
ment qualified (but did not revoke) their prohi- 
bition respecting works 64 directed to the object 
of converting the natives," and informed the 
Missionaries officially that, " whatever they 
printed for the future, must be submitted to the 
inspection of the officers of Government :" and 
hare the matter ended. An official Imprimatur 
is established for the theological works of the 
Protestant Missionaries ; and preaching to the 
natives, beyond the limits of the Danish town, 
is entirely prohibited: and. this, of course, 
amounts to nearly a total suppression of the 
Mission. 

The chief inconvenience of the Imprimatur 
imposed is, not that religious books shall be 
submitted to the officers of Government, but 
that they must be submitted to the "native" 
officers of Government. If. indeed, the Chris- 
tian officers of Government understood the Ben- 
galee, Arabic, Orissa, Mahrx.Ua, and Chinese 
languages, then might the Missionaries expect 
that Christians would revise tiieir works; but 
a Hindoo must revise the Bengalee, and a Ma- 
liometan the Arabic. Those very Mahometans 
who impeached the Missionaries in the first 
instance will necessarily be employed next t» 
6 



02- 



MEMORIAL* 



revise their theology. Was it ever heard that 
a Hindoo or a Mahometan gave a candid judg- 
ment of a Christian book ? They will, of 
course, obliterate all passages which offend 
their own superstitions, and particularly those 
quotations from Scripture which speak of lying 
prophets, or the sin of idolatry. 

I now beg leave to request your Lordship's 
attention to the plea on which these proceed- 
ings against the Protestant Missionaries have 
been grounded. It is this ; " that the public 
faith has been pledged to leave the natives in 
the undisturbed exercise of their religions." 
This is a proper pledge of our Legislature. It 
is proper not to disturb the natives in the exer- 
cise of their religion; nor has this pledge ever 
been broken, directly or indirectly. It is pro- 
per not to interfere with, or by violence to pre- 
vent, the superstition of the natives, if not crim- 
inal in itself, or affecting the public peace. 
But if, by the expression, " not disturbing the 
imtives in the exercise of their religion, 9 ' be 
meant that " we are not to use means for dif- 
fusing the knowledge of Christianity among 
them," then it is to be observed, that this pledge 
has been violated by every Government in In- 
dia, and has been systematically broken by the 
Honourable the East India Company from the 
year 1698 to the present time. The fact is, 
they have pledged themselves to a conduct just 
the reverse. The East India Company hold 
this country by a Charter, which expressly sti- 
pulates that they shall use means to instruct 
the Gentoos, &e. in the Christian Religion* 
(William III. 15th September, 1698.) And 



MEMORIAL. 



68 



this stipulation is in perfect accordance with 
their pledge of not disturbing the natives in 
the exercise of their superstitions by force, in- 
asmuch as it is a very different thing to apply 
arguments to the mind and to inflict wounds on 
the body. It is their duty to civilize their bar- 
barous subjects, and to teach them humanity, 
and for that purpose to address their under- 
standings and their affections. At the same 
time, it is their duty not to disturb the exercise 
of their superstition by compulsory acts ; and 
the Legislature has stipulated for the perform- 
ance of both duties ; and the first duty is as 
positive as the second. They first stipulate to 
do good, and they next stipulate not to do evi! ; 
and in consequence of this stipulation, the Hon- 
ourable Company have constantly aided t lie 
Christian Missions in India ; and at this time, 
they devote a considerable sum annually to their 
support. The Protestant Mission in Bengal 
commenced in 1758. The Honourable Com- 
pany's ships brought out the annual supplies 
for this Mission, and before the year 1770, re- 
ligious tracts were translated into the Bengalee 
language ; and Hindoo Christians preached to 
their countrymen, in the time of Hastings, in 
the town of Calcutta. The Mission continued 
its labours till about the year 17U0- when the 
supply of Missionaries from Europe failed. 
It was succeeded by the present Mission at Se- 
ra m pore in 1793. 

The Calcutta mission was of extensive use 
in disseminating Christian principles through 
Northern India. They sent Arabic New Tes- 
taments to the court of Shah Allum, the Mail- 



64 



MEMORIAL. 



omedan King of Hindostan, then resident at 
Allahabad. The priests of his Majesty return- 
ed their thanks to the Missionaries, and reques- 
ted that " the supply might be continued." It 
was continued for a time, and an investment of 
Arabic Bibles is soon expected, under the sanc- 
tion of the Honourable Company, for a similar 
purpose. Little of the influence of Christian- 
ity in India has come, as yet, to the knowledge 
of the public. Englishmen in general know as 
little of the state of Christianity in India, as 
of the state of Hinduism. Two Christian Mis- 
sions were at the same period tolerated by Shah 
All urn ; one of which had existed since the 
time of Akbar the Great, and both of which 
exist unto this day. 

At Seringapatam, under Kyder Suit ami the 
Mali omedan Prince of Mysore, the most com- 
plete toleration was permitted. In the Appen- 
dix to the enclosed pamphlet, your Lordship 
will see with what ardour the preaching of 
Swartz was received at Seringapatam, and Low 
the noble Mahomedans and Hindoos desired to^ 
learn from him w hat was the right prayer.-' 
Romish Missions were tolerated by Myder at 
tile same time. Tippoo Sultaun was more in- 
tolerant than his father. He was at times a 
persecutor; yet he did not quench Christiani- 
ty ; and Missions now fiou* : Ai in various parts, 
of the Mysore country. 

After these authorities, we certainly shall 
not refer to the Maf tonic dan Moonshees in Cal- 
cutta, for their opinion on the general relations 
of religious toleration in India. 

I do not know whether your Lordship has 
been informed, that there are two Soman Call 



MEMORIAL, 



65 



olie Missions in Bengal and the provinces ad- 
jacent. They have existed for a long period of 
time, and have been tolerated by the Mahome- 
dan, Hindoo, Seik, Nepaul, and Tibet Govern- 
ments. They have preached and published 
what they pleased, without any official restric- 
tion that we have ever heard of ; and they now 
continue to follow their functions under the pro- 
tection of the English Government, while the 
Protestant Missionaries are restrained and their 
theology is subjected to an official licence. 

The proceedings against the Protestant Mis- 
sion will naturally be supposed at home to have 
been called forth by some public commotion in 
Bengal, or by the bad moral character of the 
Missionaries. As to the first, they will he hap- 
py to hear, that we are now, and long have been, 
in a state of almost torpid tranquillity ; and as 
to the character of the Missionaries, the Gov- 
ernment has acknowledged them to be men of 
quiet demeanour, of pious intentions, and as de- 
serving countenance and respect for their liter- 
ary labours. 

It has been the usual conduct of Asiatic Go- 
vernments to let Christianity alone. In the an- 
nals of the British Administration in India, 
there has been no instance of the suppression 
of a Christian Mission. Our empire here sub- 
sists by the discrepancy of religious opinion. 
It is not good policy to strengthen the Hindoo 
Religion, or to strengthen the Mahomedan Re- 
ligion ; but it is good policy to strengthen the 
Christian Religion, because it is as yet the 
weakest. It is certainly our duty not to oppose 
it ; for " if this council be of God, we cannot 
6* 



MEMORIAL, 



fesist it. ?? And it would now be as easy to op- 
pose the rushing of the Bore into the river 
Ganges, as to oppose the entrance of Christian- 
ity into the province of Bengal.* 

9. After the perusal of the foregoing pages, 
your Lordship will be prepared to understand 
the cause of the late alarm regarding the Pro- 
phecies; not a public alarm indeed, but the 
alarm of some of the officers of your Lord- 
ship's government. 

Having had occasion lately to preach a se- 
ries of discourses on the Christian Prophecies, 
in the Presidency Church, some of the congre- 
gation expressed a wish that I would permit 
them to be printed, observing, that they had be- 
fore made a similar request without effect; but 
as 1 was now about to return to Europe, they 
hoped I would bequeath to them these few dis- 
courses. 

When it was understood by the officers of 
Government, that the sermons on the prophe- 
cies were to be published, they were alarmed : 
— your Lordship will scarcely divine the cause 
— it was this : — It seems these prophecies de- 
clare, " that all nations shall be converted to 
the religion of Christ." But if this be true, it 
was argued, What bad news to the Malsome- 
dans and the Hindoos ! In short, the advertise- 
ment announcing the intended publication of 
the Prophecies, which was sent to the Govern- 

* The Bore Is the rapid influx of the tide of tile 
ocean into the Ganges. That river is wide at the mouth ; 
but suddenly narrowing, the accumulated waters seek 
their level, and run forward in a continued billow, with 
a mighty rushing- noise, a hundred miles up the country, 



MEMORIAL. 



67 



nient Gazette, was suppressed ; the advertise- 
meat itself was delivered in with trepidation 
to Government, and an order was immediately 
issued to the printers of the other papers, for- 
bidding them to publish the alarming notice. 
In consequence of this order, it has been pub- 
licly understood that the Christian Prophecies 
are suppressed by authority ! 

I now beg leave to submit it to your Lord- 
ship's judgment, whether, in the view of the 
temper of mind displayed above, it would be 
proper in me to subject my compositions to the 
opinion and revision of the oftieers of your 
Lordship's government. Might there not be 
some danger in committing the Christian Pro- 
phecies to be altered and new-modelled by men 
who favour the disciples of Mahomet and Brah- 
ma ? i incline not to commit them to the hands 
of those officers, from another consideration : 
it would be a bad precedent. I would not that 
it should be thought, that any where in the 
British dominions, there exists any thing like a 
civil inquisition into matters purely religious. 

It is now nearly two months since I received 
the letter from Government on this matter, 
and I have not yet communicated my intentions. 
I now beg leave to inform your Lordship, [hut 
I do not wish to give Government any unneces- 
sary offence. I shall not publish the Prop lie 
cies. 

At the same time I beg leave most respect- 
fully to assure your Lordship, that I am not in 
any way disappointed by the interference of 
Government on this occasion. The supposed 
suppression of the Christian Prophecies has 



68 



MEMORIAL. 



produced the consequence that might bie expee* 
ted. The public curiosity has been greatly ex« 
cited to see these Prophecies ; and to draw the 
attention of men to the Divine Predictions? 
could be the only object I had in view in notic- 
ing them in the course of my public ministry. 
Another consequence will probably be ; the 
Prophecies will be translated into the languages 
of the East, and thus pave the way, as has 
sometimes happened, for their own fulfilment. 

10. Your Lordship will be enabled better to 
understand the real nature of this alarm re- 
garding the Prophecies, when you are inform™ 
ed of the alarm which was excited about half 
a year before your Lordship's arrival, by the 
ancient " Christian Tablets." 

In consequence of the inquiries?, sanctioned 
"by the Marquis Welles ley, into the history and 
literature of the Syrian Christians of Travail- 
core, some ancient Manuscripts were announce 
ed, and also certain 44 Brass Tablets" of great 
antiquity, containing the privileges of these an- 
cient Christians, asserting their rights of no- 
bility, and declaring withal that they had a 
King. Your Lordship can hardly conceive the 
apprehensions which were excited by this dis- 
covery, in the minds of those who have beerr 
lately alarmed by the Prophecies. Even at 
the first, it was accounted an ominous mission 
to go 44 to rake up the ashes of Christianity" 
in. the very midst of the Hindoos. But when 
it w as announced that there were 44 glowing 
embers," nothing less seemed to be expected 
than that all Himlostan would shortly be 44 in a 
flams." For if it was true that Christianity 



• 



MEMORIAL. 



63 



once flourished in Hntdostan, it followed that 
it nii^ht flourish again. It was devoutlf wish- 
ed " that these Christian Tablets might sink 
to the bottom of the sea," and even the curios- 
ity of the Hindoo Antiquaries was quenched in 
this horror of Christianity.* 

That your Lordship may be assured that this 
alarm was real, and not fictitious, it is only ne- 
cessary to add, that when the article of litera- 
lly intelligence published in the Bombay Gaz- 
ette, containing the account of these aueifiit 
Christians,! and of these u brass plates"' (wbieh 
account was certainly interesting to the Chris- 
tian world in general, an.i to men of letters in 
particular,) arrived at Calcutta, it was sup- 
pressed, by authority, as something dangerous 
to the State; and the Bishop of LlandaiPs let- 
ter on the Civilization of India! had nearly 
shared the same fate. 

11. It appearing from the recent events above 
noticed, that the diffusion of Christianity in 
Bengal is plainly obnoxious to some of the of- 
ficers of Government, serious apprehensions 
are now entertained, that the attempt to sup- 
press the translation of the Scriptures will be 
renewed. I cannot believe that the attempt 
will be made during your Lordship's adminis- 

* These brass tablets are now deposited in the pub- 
lic library of the University of Cambridge. 

f ft had been previously published in the Bombay 
Gazette, by which means it reached Europe. It fras 
published afterwards in England by the late Kishop of 
Loudon. 

; See Christian Researches, at conclusion. 



MEMORIAL* 



tration- If, however, any sinister event should 
afford a pretext for reviving it, I humbly re- 
quest that the Chinese Translation of the 
Scriptures may be spared. Suffer me, my Lord, 
to intercede for the Chinese. There are three 
English youths, who have been for two years 
past under the tuition of the Chinese Professor 
and his two Chinese Assistants, and they have 
fiow acquired a very considerable proficiency 
in the Chinese Language ; and it is ray inten- 
tion to call them to England for public pur- 
poses, in three years hence, if their studies be 
not interrupted. This Class has been organiz- 
ed and maintained at a great expense. It is 
the only regular Chinese Class in the world, 
out of the limits of the Chinese Empire; and 
it will probably be the source of the first regu- 
lar instruction in the Chinese Language in 
Great Britain.* 

* The expense was upwards of 1300 pounds. The 
Chinese Professor, Mr. Lassar, was originally engaged 
fo superintend the Class at Serampore, by Dr. Buchan- 
an, and was maintained at his sole expense for about 
three years, at 300 rupees per month. The condition 
on which Dr. Buchanan engaged to maintain him at the 
Mission-House, was, That one of the elder Missionaries, 
and three at least of the youths, should engage in the 
diligent study of the Chinese Language. Mr. Marsh- 
man was the elder Missionary who accepted the con- 
dition. Hearing that the Hon. the Court of Directors 
were about to organize the College at Hertford, Dr. Bu- 
chanan contemplated, at that time, the probability of 
Lassar' s pupils being by and by qualified to hold a 
situation as Instructors of Chinese in that institution. 
They are now qualified for that office ; and it seems to 
be the interest of the East-India Company to appropn- 



MEMORIAL. 



71 



i.% If your Lordship should judge it expe- 
dient to investigate any of the facts contained 
in this letter, I shall be happy to afford any 
further evidence or explanation that may be re- 
quired, before I leave India. 

I have the honour to be, 
My Lord, 

With the highest respect, your Lordship's 

Most obedient and humble Servant, 
(Signed) C. BUCHANAJt 

Calcutta, 
7th Nov. 1807. 

ate the special advantage. A knowledge of the Chinese 
Language is confessed to be of the utmost importance 
to their civil servants who have to negociate with the 
Chinese people ; and yet it is not cultivated either at 
the College of Fort William in Bengal, or at the Col- 
lege of Hertford in England. 'this important language, 
hitherto deemed inaccessible to the Universities of En- 
rope, was planted, and has been brought to maturity, 
as it were, by the way -side* 



REMARKS 



OX THE 

LETTER FROM THE BENGAL GOVERNMENT 

TO THE 

Eon. the Court of Directors, dated Dec. 7, 1807, in reply 
to the foregoi7ig Jtfemorial* 

THE Earl of Minto must be well assured by 
this time, that I highly respect the character 
of ' his administration ; for his public acts de- 
monstrate, that he is by no means indifferent to 
the promotion of learning in the East, or to 
the diffusion of Christian Knowledge amongst 
the inhabitants of India. At the time I sub- 
mitted to his Lordship the preceding Memorial 
concerning the injuries inflicted on Christianity 
in Bengal, I wished him to understand that I 
exonerated him entirely from blame* since he 
had but lately arrived, and could not possibly 
be fully acquainted with all the circumstances 
to which the Address referred. And his Lord- 
ship will do me the justice to recollect that I 
did not transmit that letter " on the public ser- 
vice/' or to the Governor-general u in Coun- 
cil but merely for his private information, if 
lie. should think proper so to consider it. His 



* See .Appendix, No. I. 



REMARKS. 



fashioning my address into a public proceeding 
was entirely gratuitous. I offered to explain ; 
but he declined an interview, and chose to send 
the Memorial to England, accompanied by offi- 
cial animadversion. The truth was, he natur- 
ally received his first impressions from the pub- 
lic functionaries who filled official situations 
near his person ; and with that urbanity and 
heroism whieh are natural to him, he said, " I 
will defend my new government." The radi- 
cal error of his Lordship's incipient adminis- 
tration (not indeed imputable to himself) was, 
that in concerting measures respecting " Reli- 
gion and Christian Missions," he did not call to 
his councils the official adviser of Government 
on such subjects; namely, the Senior Chaplain 
of the Honourable Company, the Rev. David 
Brown, who had enjoyed the confidence of ev- 
ery Governor-General for nearly twenty years 
before, and who could have given him, in a few 
minutes, just views of character and of exist- 
iag circumstances. But some of the persons 
about his Lordship had no desire to direct his 
attention at that crisis to such a counsellor as 
Mr. Brown ; for he was too sincere a friend of 
Christianity.* His Lordship's good sense s 
however, seems soon to have triumphed over 
this difficulty ; and to have enabled him to ap- 
preciate justly Mr. Brown's counsel and com- 
munications. The public has heard how lau- 
dably Lord Minto has exercised himself in 
promoting useful learning, by giving his pat- 

* I would always exempt from the imputations con- 
nected with this subject Ntel Benjamin Edmonstone, 
Esq. Vice-President of the Calcutta Bible Society. 



REMARKS* 



ron age to the College of Fort William, to (lie 
Chinese Class at Serampore, and to the Calcut- 
ta Auxiliary Bible Society. In Mr. Brown's 
communication to me last year, respecting the 
establishment of the Bible Society, he distinct- 
ly mentions his Lordship's change of sentiment 
on some points. — Pagoda, (Serampore,) 5th 
March, 1811. — 1 have had long an ' full dis- 
cussions with Lord Minto on all subjects of re- 
ligion, missions, and Scriptures ; and he is very 
desirous to tread back his steps, and to atone 
for the mistake which he made at the begin- 
ning of his government Your memorial pre- 
pared the way for this reflux of sentiment. 
Neither that, nor the Chinese, nor any part of 
your labours, have fallen to the ground." Lord 
Minto will best know whether this extract pos- 
sesses the features of truth. Nothing could 
have justified my printing it but the necessity 
which existed, that the truth should be fully un- 
derstood on a subject affecting the interests of 
Christianity, and the character of its legitimate 
teachers in India. It is believed in Bengal, 
that the attack on the Missionaries did not 
originate with Lord Minto. On the contrary, 
it was supposed that his presence tempered its 
violence, and assuaged the storm. 

2. I shall do myself the honour to remark 
on the Letter itself. The. Memorial presented 
by me adverted to certain public acts which I 
considered to be dishonourable and injurious to 
Christianity. I specifsed the four following: 

First. "The withdrawing of the patronage 
of Government from the translation of the 
Holy Scriptures into the Oriental Tongues," 



REMARKS. 



7o 



Second. " Attempting to suppress the trans- 
lation of the Scriptures entirely, 55 

Third. " Suppressing the encomium of the 
Honourable the Court of Directors on their ve- 
nerable Missionary the Rev. Mr, Swartz 5" and 

Fourth. " Restraining the Protestant Mis- 
sionaries in Bengal from the exercise of their 
functions, and establishing an Imprimatur for 
Theological Works. 59 

To the first of these charges, the Bengal 
Government have made no reply ; and yet it 
was the most important. The withdrawing of 
the patronage of Government from the transla- 
tion of the Scriptures, which had commenced 
so auspiciously in the College of Fort William, 
was an act which involved in it most sensibly 
the honour of a Christian Administration. But 
there is nit one word offered in justification. 
Indeed, it was impossible to justify it.* 

To the second charge, " Attempting to sup- 
press the translation of the Scriptures eutire- 

* It is to be hoped that, at this era of Christian in- 
vestigation, the East-India Company will vindicate the 
honour of the nation, and of their own government in 
India, by directing" that the College of Fort William 
shall patronise, as it formerly did, translations of the 
Scriptures in the various languages of the East ; and 
particularly, that the insular languages, cultivated by 
their Professor, the late Dr. Leyden, (into each of which 
he has translated the Gospel of Si. Matthew), may not 
be permitted again to sink into oblivion for want, of 
encouragement. The College of Fort William expends 
a monthly sum at this time, under sanction pf the 
Court of Directors, for translations from the Mytholo- 
gy of Brahma (witness the fabulous Ramayuna, he) 
but nothing is given, that we have heard of, for the 
honour of Christ, 



REMARKS. 



Jy" out of the College, -as well as in it, no re- 
ply is made. Nor shall I add further explana- 
tion. 

To the third charge, " Suppressing the offi- 
cial encomium on the venerable Swartz," there 
is no reply. There is not the most distant al- 
lusion to the subject. 

On the fourth charge alone, copious observa- 
tions have been made. And on these I propose 
to animadvert. 

Of the collateral subjects, the alarm con- 
cerning " The Brass Plates, 5 ' and the exclu- 
sion from the Government Gazette and other 
papers of the " literary intelligence" concern- 
ing the Syrian Christians in Travancore, no no- 
tice has been taken.* 

* When Dr. Leyden, Lord Minto's admired literary 
friend, who possessed a spirit which was keenly suscep* 
tible, heard of the Government's suppressing the " lit- 
erary intelligence," relating to that very quarter of In » 
dia, through part of which he himself had travelled, 
and concerning which he had furnished me with vari- 
ous topics of investigation, I leave his Lordship to con^ 
ceive the fluent speech and bodily agitation of the 
scholar, on the view of the " Gothic proceeding." 

The public in England have been much gratified by 
the perusal of the Earl of Minto's beautiful eulogium 
on the character of Dr. Leyden, at the last public dis- 
putation at the College of Fort William. Dr. Leyden's 
talents for philological research were indeed beyond all 
praise ; but he consecrated his last years by a study of 
a higher kind than that of philology ; " He was trans- 
lating the Holy Scriptures into five different languages. 5 * 
We should have been happy to have seen, that this 
fittest subject for the highest panegyric had not hem 
wholly omitted in a discourse addressed to the Students 
of the College of Fort William. 



REMAKES. 



3. Before I proceed further, I shall make 
two preliminary remarks. 

Of the accuracy of the facts stated in the 
Memorial, I think'there can be little doubt. I 
challenged inquiry before I left Calcutta; but 
the Government did not think it necessary to 
investigate them. They wrote their Letter to 
the Court of Directors while I was yet on the 
spot, without communicating their sentiments 
to me in any manner, although I was on terms 
of personal civility with every member of the 
administration ; and they sent the letter home, 
without my knowledge by the same fleet which 
conveyed myself. Nor did I ever see it until 
it was recently printed by order of the Hon- 
ourable the House of Commons. 

The second remark I would make refers to 
the charge of " disrespect" which is preferred 
against me, in the Letter alluded to, for ad- 
dressing Government at all on the subject ; and 
to which they frequently revert with lively sen- 
sibility. I am not at all anxious about self- 
justitieation in this matter, except as the hon- 
our of religion may be concerned : and I hope 
little personal feeling will be visible in these 
Remarks. But in regard to the charge in 
question, I only request that the Bengal Gov- 
ernment will look back to the transaction, and 
survey the nature of the subject and the cir- 
cumstances in which I stood. Let them say 
whether I had any personal interest in the 
cause at issue. Did I address Government for 
my own advantage ? Was it to recommend my- 
self to the favour of the Court of Directors 
when I returned home ? No. It was not my own 



REMARKS, 



cause, but that of Revealed Religion, which I 
maintained. Christianity had been dishonour- 
ed. Its teachers were oppressed and silenced f 
and there was nobody to appear for the truth, 
I stood, for a moment, the Representative of 
" Him who is higher than the highest. 59 And 
is this to be denominated disrespect ; especial- 
ly when the words of my Address are perfect- 
ly respectful ? I think that, in the judgment of 
candour and of enlightened minds, it will be 
thought that I barely did my duty. The pub- 
lic voice in the settlement of Calcutta was cer- 
tainly in my favour 5 for the proceedings against 
the Missionaries were very generally con- 
demned. 

4. The justification of the acts of Govern- 
ment specified in the eighth paragraph of my 
Memorial, is founded on these two assump- 
tions, viz. 

1. That the "proceedings of the Missiona- 
ries were of a character entirely new," and that 
their publications and preaching rendered the 
interference of Government necessary. 

2. That the Supreme Government was by no 
means hostile to the introduction of Christiani- 
ty into India. 

Let us review the first of these assumptions. 
—We shall describe " the origin" of the pro- 
ceedings against the Missionaries in the words 
of the official dispatch to the Court of Direc- 
tors. 

" The pamphlet in question was delivered to 
ihe Secretary in the Secret, Political, and For- 
eign Department by the Professor of Arabic 

and Persian in the College of Fort William, 



REMARKS 



7$ 



who received it from the chief native Precep- 
tor in that department," (that is, the chief 
Arabic Moonshee, a Mahomed an ;) " who stat- 
ed that it was put into his hands, by the son of 
a Mogul merchant (a Mahomedan) residing at 
Calcutta, with a request that he would prepare 
an answer to it, with a view to vindicate the 
credit of their common religion. 95 * It is not 
alledged that the Moonshee complained of the 
contents of the paper in any manner. No state- 
ment to that effect is contained in the whole 
dispateh. 

This pamphlet, it seems, declared that Mah- 
omet was a tyrant and an impostor ; and more- 
over, that the Christian Religion .was the true 
one. On which the Government resolved, 
" That the public faith had been pledged to 
leave the inhabitants of these dominions in the 
full, free, and undisturbed exercise of their re- 
spective religions and that the Missionaries 
ought to be restrained. They accordingly in- 
terdicted the Missionaries from preaching or 
publishing ; that is, they suppressed the Mis- 
sion. But after they had so done, they discov- 
ered, to their great astonishment, that pamph- 
lets of a similar nature had been " published 
five years before," and th^t public preaching 
had been practised during the same period in 
Calcutta by the same Missionaries. TJr. Carey 
declared officially : " Although pamphlets have 
been in circulation for several years, no one in- 
stance has come to my knowledge of the least 
symptom of alarm having been excited, wheth- 



* East India Papers, No. 142, p. 41. 



REMARKS* 



er among Hindoos or Mussulmans, in colt se- 
quence' of such circulation." At this 'period* 
Lord Minto must have looked gravely l ai his 
counsellors. The Government discovered fur- 
ther, that pamphlets of a like character had 
Been published all over the south of India, for 
three centuries before : and that, in short, there 
was no way of saying that Christianity is true, 
without, insinuating that Mahom edanis in is 
false. 

5. But let us investigate the " first move- 
ment 5 ' in this affair. The pamphlet fell info 
the hands of a Mahomedan merchant in Cal- 
cutta, who carried it to a Mahometan Moon- 
shee in the College, " with a request that he 
would prepare an answer to it, with a view to 
vindicate the credit of their common religion." 
Thus far was well. The Moonshee shews it to 
his English Master, the Arabic Professor ; 
whether, as an object of curiosity, or in a sullen 
mood, is not stated. The Arabic Professor 
seizes the paper, and presents it to the Govern- 
ment. Now, if that gentleman had not charged 
himself with this official act, we should proba- 
bly have never heard a word on the subject. 
When the Moonshee had shewed the pamphlet 
to him, he ought to have acted like a Christian 
Professor, and said, " Do as the son of the Mo- 
gul merchant bids you : go and prepare an an- 
swer to it with a view to vindicate your common 
religion." Had he so done, the Moonshee would 
probably have answered : " It is hard work/' 
and have gone to smoke his Hooka, — Again, 
supposing (for argument's sake) that the Moon- 
shee complained that Mahomet was Vilified, 



REMARKS. 



the Professor had only to reply : " Brahmins, 
Boodhists and Seiks vilify Mahomet every day 
in words and in writing. But is it for you, 
Mahomedans, to speak of the indecorum of 
vilifying the religion of others, whose books 
are filled with it ? What volume, in the theo- 
logical part of Tippoo ? s Library in the College 
of Fort William (if it refers to Christianity at 
all) does not contain th( most unqualified abuse 
of the Christian Religion, and of its profes- 
sors -I hope that the gentleman, whoever he 
was, who made himself active on tlie above oc- 
casion, has, by this time, made some atonement 
to the Christian cause, and enrolled himself a 
member of the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible So- 
ciety. 

6. In the Letter of the Bengal Government, 
they relate a transaction which took place un- 
der the administration of Marquis Wellesley, 
in vindication of their interfering with the Mis- 
sionaries. But I allege that the case is of no 
value in regard to the purpose for which it is 
quoted. I was Vice-Provost of the College at 
the time, and must have been fully acquainted 
with the particulars of the transaction. As I 
Iiear it has been triumphantly mentioned by the 
adversaries of Missions, a brief elucidation of 
its merits may not be unacceptable. 

In the year 1804, the following Thesis was 
proposed, among others, for discussion by the 
Students, at the annual disputations held in 
the College of Fort William, viz. « The ad- 
vantage which the natives of this country might 
derive from translations, in the vernacular 
tongues, of the books containing the principles 



REMARKS. 



of tlieir respective religions, and those of the 
Christian 6i faith. 59 — Among the persons con- 
nected with the Government and with the Col- 
lege about that time, there were some who, in 
consequence of long habits of intercourse with 
the natives, had acquired a greater tender ness 
for the religious feelings of a Mahometlan or 
Hindoo, than for those of a Christian. And 
this they defended (some of them singularly 
amiable men,) without renouncing the charac- 
ter of Christian themselves, on the ground of 
condescension to the prejudices of the " weaker 
brethren." These gentlemen had, of course, 
been hostile from the beginning, to the transla- 
tion of the Scriptures in the Oriental Lan- 
guages, which was proceeding in the College 
by Natives and Europeans. So great was 
their jealousy on this subject, that there ex- 
isted a kind of compromise between us, that if 
the Bible was printed for Christians, the Koran 
should be printed for Mahometans ; which 
was actually done. They further objected to 
the discussion of subjects at the annual disputa- 
tions in the Oriental Tongues, in which the 
inferiority of Mahomedanisni might be infer- 
red by implication. When, therefore, the above 
Thesis was proposed, which seemed merely to 
place the Christian and Mahomedan Religions 
on an equality, they represented to me, as Vice- 
Provost, that the subject might give offence. I 
observed, that certainly there was no ground of 
offence on the part of the natives ; that, on the 
contrary, I considered the Thesis myself as be- 
ing rather discreditable to Christianity; and 
tbat I would giadly order it to be changed for 



REMARKS. 



83 



another, if it were not that the young men had 
now prepared their disputations on the subject. 
It is proper to observe that the subject was not 
proposed by me. By a rule of the College, the 
selection of the Thesis is given to the student, 
called the Respondent, who is to defend it; 
and it must be afterwards approved by the 
College Council. I heard no more of the mat- 
ter till after some days, when I was informed 
that the Mahometan Moonshees and others 
had signed a paper in the way of memorial io 
Lord Wellesley, requesting that their religion 
might not be invaded. The fact was, they were 
urged and assisted so to do by their Christian 
Patrons : the Moonshees being in general as 
subservient to the will of their English Pro- 
fessor as servants are (o a master. Nay, seme 
of the English acknowledged that they " en- 
couraged it as a very proper measure/' And 
it was proved that many of the Moonshees who 
signed the paper knew not what the Thesis 
contained.— The petition having been presented 
to Lord Wellesley, he first told them that there 
was no harm in the Thesis, and then desired it 
to be changed ; which was done. And this 
was the precedent which some years afterwards 
was to vindicate the suppression of the Chris- 
tian mission. 

7. A new doctrine was introduced about the 
time the Missionaries were assiled, viz. That 
to propagate Christianity was* necessarily to 
vilify (by inference) the religions of the country. 
And with this was connected the foiiuwing pro- 
position, which every where pervades the let- 
ter ou which 1 am remarking ; namely. That 



REMARKS. 



the public faith had been repeatedly pledged* 
under the express inj unctions of the Legisla- 
ture, to leave the subjects of the Company in 
the full, free, and undisturbed exercise of their 
respective religions Just as if the most 
solemn engagements of the Legislature in Great 
Britain should ever be supposed to preclude 
religious discussion; or to forbid Christians to 
think and to say, That Juggernaut was a log 
of wood, or that Mahomet was an impostor. 

The Missionaries state, in their Memorial, 
that the Marquis Wellesley ordered the Psalms 
of David, and the Prophecy of Isaiah, to be 
translated into the Bengalee Language, as a 
Class-book for the Students. In consequence 
©f this order, the Hindoo Moonsliees would be 
obliged to instruct their pupils how to read 
such passages as these : " All nations which 
thou hast made shall come and worship before 
thee, O Lord." — "The Heathen shall cast their 
idols to the moles and to the bats;" But his 
Lordship was not aware that he was infringing, 
by that order, the most solemn injunctions of 
the British Legislature. 

In regard to " religious discussion," Dr. Ca- 
rey represented to the Government, when they 
were about to suppress his functions, a fact 
which every body conversant with the inhabi- 
tants well knew ; namely, " That the natives 
of Bengal, divided into numerous sects, indulge 
in literary and religious discussion to an almost 
unbounded degree ;" — and that the Missionaries 
" found, in numerous instances, that discussion 
has been desired and approved by the multitude, 
even when it has ended to the disadvantage of 
their spiritual guides." 



REMARKS. 



85 



It was amusing, about this time, to see the 
Missionaries presenting to the Bengal Govern- 
ment, with great simplicity, (in reply to the 
argument of the " pledged faith,") an extract 
from the Charter to the Company by William 
III. in which it is stipulated, " That the mini- 
sters of the Honourable Company are to learn 
the Hindoo languages, to enable them to instruct 
the Geiiioos, &c. in the Christian Religion." 

8. The Bengal Government, in order to shew 
that it must be difficult to have religious dis- 
cussions with a Mahomedan, quote a passage 
from a book of my own : " A Memoir of the 
Expediency of an Ecclesiastical Establishment 
for British India," published in 180.3 ; and they 
seem to quote it as containing a truth justly ex- 
pressed ; " Whenever the Mahomedan feels his 
religion touched, he grasps his dagger." This is 
certaiiry a truee- aracteristic of thatjpeople, in 
general ; and yet we know that many a Ma- 
homedan has been subdued by the persuasive 
power of the Gospel, and that the ferocious ti- 
ger has been changed into a lamb. It is, doubt- 
less, the principle of the Mahomedan in every 
part of the world, in England as well as India, 
to draw the dagger when his religion is assail- 
ed 5 for the religion that was propagated by 
the sword can only be defended by the sword; 
but where Mahomedans are servants and not 
masters, they have not, or at least ought not to 
have, daggers to draw. 

In sueh circumstances (while they are our 
subjects,) what ousjht then to be our conduct 
towards them ? What do Christian duty and a 
wise policy require on our part? This was the 



36 



REMARKS. 



question I was endeavouring to answer. It h 
the fate of the English in India to exist among 
this dagger-drawing people. How may we be 
able to exist among them for an age to come 
with confidence and security ? I attempted to 
shew, that our only hope of attaining to this 
security must be derived from gradually hu- 
manizing their vindictive spirit by Christian 
instruction. I recommended that -the* Govern- 
ment should allow " Christian Schools to b& 
established for the children-;" and that, in re- 
spect to the adults, instead of " nursing their 
faith with tenderness" (as the manner of some 
was, and on which I had just animadverted ;) 
and instead of " reverencing the religion of 
Mahomedans" by which reverence it was well 
known their contemptuous spirit was cherish- 
ed and fomented ; we should endeavour to 
repress and restrain their contemptuous spirit 
(or, as I less properly expressed it in the first 
edition, 44 to coerce their contemptuous spirit") 
by every proper means, and particularly by 
maintaining a distant demeanour, and treating 
them after the manner adopted by Marquis 
Welles ley and Marquis Corn wall is, who, as I 
afterwards observe, " never admitted a native 
to their confidence or counsel." * 

And such are the means I would yet recom- 
mend. But some persons have said, that they un- 
derstand the passage as if I intended we ought 
to convert the Mahomedans " by force."* But 
if such was my meaning, why did not the Ben- 

* As for the Hindoos, they could not have been in- 
cluded, for they aevet* shewed '* a contemptuous spirit/' ' 



REMARKS. 



87 



gal Government quote the passage on this most 
lit occasion, and demolish, at one blow, the cause 
of Christian Conversion in India, which I was 
defending ? The reason is very obvious : it was <* 
because they knew i meant no such thing. On 
the contrary, they knew that the passage con- 
tained a just sentiment and most wholesome ad- 
vice. I had just before complained of Chris- 
tians doing obeisance to the faith of Mahomet. 
" As matters now stand, the follower of Maho- 
met imagines that we consider it a point of 
honour to reverence his faith, and to despise 
our own. For he every day meets with Euro- 
peans, who would more readily speak with dis- 
respect of their own religion than of his. No 
where is the bigotry of this intolerant faith 
nurtured with more tenderness than in British 
India. While it is, suffering concussion in ev- 
ery other part of the world, even to Mecca its 
centre (as by a concurring Providence toward 
its final abolition,) here it is fostered in the 
peaceful lap of Christian liberality." And 
then I signified, that, instead of cherishing this 
spirit, a wise policy required that we should 
repress it. The means by whieh we might so 
repress it I had just before pointed out. "Is 
it then good policy to cherish a vindictive re- 
ligion in the bosom of the empire for ever? 
Would it not accord with the dictates of the 
soundest wisdom, to allow Christian Schools to 
he established, w here the children of poor Mah- 
oinedaros might learn another temper; the good 
effects of which would be felt h^fore one genera- 
tion pass away? The adult Hindoo will hard- 
ly depart from his idol, or the Mahomedan 



88 



REMARKS. 



from Ins prophet in his old age ; but his chil- 
dren, when left destitute, may be brought up 
Christians, if the British Parliament please." 

Tbat is the kind of force I would recommend, 
and which I explained ; namely, the persuasive 
force of Christian Instruction, exerted on in- 
fant and juvenile minds. It is somewhat re- 
markable, that when three volumes which I 
have published concerning the East, recom- 
mend, in almost every page, the appointed and 
legitimate means of conversion, viz. "Preach- 
ing and the Word of God," there should be any 
person who would contend, that a single line of 
dubious import must necessarily contradict all 
the rest. When men of adverse sentiments 
fasten on a single word in a book, it is a sure 
sign that they are overwhelmed by its argu* 
ments, awed by its truth, and encumbered with 
an expiring cause.* 

9. We now come to the consideration of the 
obnoxious pamphlets.— The Bengal Govern- 
ment have transmitted three to England, which 
they mark A. B. and '0* and which they desig- 

* I was not a little surprised to hear tbat an Honor- 
able Member had stated seriously, in the House of 
Commons, that I had recommended that the natives of 
India should be converted by force. I only can account 
for this by supposing* that some person had told him it 
was so ; and that he had never read a word which I 
had written on the subject. I could hardly propose 
that 30,000 men should draw the sword on fifty milli- 
on, and impose a faith ! And yet this is what the in- 
sinuation means, if it means any thing*. But again, 
supposing that I had made such a proposal, would this 
have been the way to recommend my objects, concern- 
ing' India, to the British Nation r 



REMARKS. 



69 



nate to be " the most material, 55 that is, the 
most exceptionable, of them all. Of these the 
only reprehensible Tract, in my judgment, is 
C. the u Rise of Wisdom. 55 It is a small poem 
of six pages, aui was composed by a Bengalee 
Poet. The Bengal Government observe upon 
it, that " it was excluded from general perusal, 
by the abstruseness of metrical composition. 55 
It is merely a satire on the Brahmins, and was 
a very unworthy instrument to be used in Chris- 
tian Conversion ; — and such the Missionaries 
themselves acknowledged it to be. — The Tract 
marked A. is entitled " The Distinction, 55 or 
difference between the characters of Chrishna 
and Christ. It is entirely unexceptionable in 
sentiment and language. — The Tract marked 
B. is that beautiful little piece, submitted with 
the rest to the Imperial Parliament, entitled 
"The Forerunner of the Bible. 55 Though tor 
tured in the translation, it contains some strik- 
ing and eloquent passages.* I have read every 
word of this piece, and hesitate not to declare, 
that on the same principle that a tribunal could 
condemn the " Forerunner of the Bible," they 
might have condemned the Sermons of Arch- 
bishop Tillotson. On the same principle 
that they condemned the " Forerunner of the 
Bible, 55 they might have condemned the Lord's 
Prayer: — "Hallowed be thy name !" "No, 55 

* Of these the following is one : — Referring to the 
mystery of " God having become man," with allusion 
to the Hindoo incarnations : " There was an incarnation 
of Jesus, the Protector of the unprotected, full of the 
splendour of God, having- been separated from his body 
in a column of splendour before him." 

g* 



90 



REMARKS* 



says the Brahmin : " let the name of Brahms, 
be hallowed ."Thy kingdom come !"-"No," 
says the Mahomedan, " let Mahomet's, not 
Christ's, kingdom come." — But that the public 
may have competent means of forming a judg- 
ment on the subject, a copy of the. Tract is 
subjoined for their perusal.- — See Appendix, 
No. VI.* 

10. Another subject of inquiry is, whether 
there was any commotion in Bengal, in conse* 
quence of the preaching of the Missionaries, 
to warrant the proceedings against them. The 
Government do not alledge that there was any 

* When the " Forerunner of the Bible" came before 
the Court of Directors, they seem to have been at some 
loss what to say on it. As it had come so far, charged 
with crime, they thought of course that it must contain 
something wrong : but yet they had doubts. In justice 
to the Honourable Court, their sensations of difficulty 
will be stated in their own words. " Perhaps," say 
they, in answer to the Bengal Government, "some 
doubt might be fairly entertained whether a considera= 
ble part of the paper marked B. was of a nature to 
have excited similar feelings (that is, to have alarmed 
the religious prejudices of the natives) if the other 
publications did not prepare the mind to receive with 
some jealousy any works which issued from the same 
press. In suggesting the possibility of this doubt, we 
by no means intend to convey any disapprobation of 
that prudent precaution which led you to prevent the 
further publication of this last (the paper B ) together 
with those which appear to us to be more unquestionably 
exceptionable. It is a matter of great difficulty te 
draw the line which should at once describe and cha- 
racterize the publications which might be permitted to 
be considered as inoffensive ; and, at the same time, 
distinguish them from those which a proper precaution 
would suppress."*— i?a^/rc^tt Papers, J\ r o. 142] />• 72. 



i 



REMARKS* 



91 



commotion. They hint, indeed, that there was 
" an incipient irritation in the minds of the na- 
tive public ;" but they evidently make no ac- 
count of this surmise ; otherwise it would have 
appeared in a more imposing form. It was as- 
serted, at the time, that the people were " in a 
state of almost torpid tranquillity.' 5 When the 
Missionaries preached in their chapel in Cal- 
cutta, there were, oi course, always a few na* 
tives around the door ; but, during the whole 
period of my residence in that city, I never 
heard of more than one instance of the natives 
insulting the preacher, in the manner in which 
Englishmen sometimes insult a Dissenting Cha- 
pel in England. But I have heard of dissolute 
Englishmen disturbing the Mission Chapel in 
Calcutta. 

The parallel drawn by the Bengal Govern- 
ment, " between the Protectant Missionaries 
preaching to Hindoos, and Jews and Roman 
Catholics in England trying to convert Protes- 
tants," is curious. They seem to think that 
Jews and Roman Catholics dare not try to con- 
vert Protestants, " by preaching publicly and 
indiscriminately to his Majesty's Protestant sub* 
jeets," particularly if they use "opprobrious and 
offensive terms ;" and that if they were to do so, 
the magistrate might " intervene, and silence" 
them. But I beg leave most respectfully to of- 
fer it as my opinion, that Jews and Roman 
Catholics may try to convert his Majesty's liege 
Protestant subjects, " publicly and indiscrimi- 
nately," and in "opprobrious and offensive 
terms* too," whenever they please f and fur- 

* As Peter Gandolphy the Catholic, and David Levi 
the Jew, well know. 



9.3 



REMARKS, 



ther, that if the magistrate were to seize their 
bodies for such offence, the news of the event 
would soon reach the East Indies. 

11. If, then, there was no commotion among 
the people in Bengal, what was the cause of 
the proceedings against the Missionaries ? The 
massacre of Veilore — the fatal massacre of 
Vellore. That event, which had taken place 
upwards of a year before, had filled the minds 
of the rulers of India (as it well might) with 
apprehensions for the safety of the English do- 
minion. It was some time before Christianity 
was thought of as being a cause of that event 5 
but as toon as the suspicion was presented to 
the mind, it was eagerly entertained, and spee- 
dily magnified (in some imaginations) to a cer- 
tainty. This jealousy of Christianity was far- 
ther inflamed by communications from England 
— by heart-sickening, criminatory communica- 
tions. Those who were at the helm of affairs 
thought that something ought to be done ; but 
what to do they knew not. The ship of the 
state was in danger, agitated by the waves ; 
and, like infatuated mariners in a storm, they 
resolved to throw out the compass and quad- 
rant, to lighten the vessel. 

To prove the sensations of alarm concerning 
Christianity which the Bengal Government suf- 
fered about that period, it is only necessary to 
refer to their letter to the Court of Directors of 
Nov. 2, 1807, containing their proceedings re- 
specting the Missionaries. In that dispatch, 
they declare without qualification, " That the 
industrious propagation of a belief that the 
British Government entertained the design of 



REMARKS'. 



93 



converting its native subjects to Christianity, 
was rendered the efficient instrument of the mas* 
sacre of Vellore." After the evidence which 
has been laid before the nation on this subject, 
I need make no comment on the foregoing pro- 
position. But it may be proper, for the satisfac- 
tion of those persons who are not fully acquaint- 
ed with the facts, to adduce the evidence of a 
competent authority, from whose judgment 
there can hardly be any appeal on this subject ; 
but whose testimony the Bengal Government 
had not an opportunity of seeing, w hen they 
wrote the above letter. I allude to the official 
declaration of General Hay M*Dowatl 5 Com- 
mander in Chief of the Madras Army. In his 
letter to the Governor and Council of the Pre- 
sidency of Fort St. George, dated Madras, 
Nov. 19, 1807, nearly a year and a half after 
the mutiny, he delivers it as the result of the 
whole evidence which had passed under his re- 
view, " that the rumour alluded to*' (viz. that 
the British Government entertained the design 
of converting its native subjects to Christiani- 
ty) " was by no means general, and except at 
Hydrabad it had made little or no impression." 
But, what is most remarkable, the Commander 
in Chief grounds on the circumstances of this 
mutiny a proposal to the Government to build 
Christian churches. Alluding to the in- 
difference of Europeans w hich is manifested as 
to the adoration of the Supreme Being, 55 and 
to the absurdity of supposing that the natives 
should apprehend any religious interference 
from 4i persons who apparently conduct them- 
selves with so much apathy in respect to what 



94 



REMARKS. 



concerns religious worship lie observes, that 
this indifference, particularly in the army, is 
owing to the want of churches. He then adds : 
"1 trust" I shall he excused if I suggest the 
propriety of having convenient chapels, of mod- 
erate price, constructed in all situations within 
the Company's territories, where European 
troops are likely to be quartered. Whatever 
may be urged to the contrary, I am convinced 
that such an improvement, independent of the 
obvious advantages, would render the British 
character more respected by the natives, and be 
attended by no evil consequences. 5? — The whole 
letter of General M' Bow-ail, and the Resolu- 
tions of Government thereon, will be given for 
the satisfaction of the reader. [See Appen- 
dix, No. Ill-] But the observations of his pre- 
decessor, Genera! Sir John Cradock, mark, in 
a yet more absolute manner, the absence of 
Christianity from the English troops in India. 
In an official communication to Government af- 
ter the massacre of Yellore, he thus writes : 
" In no situation has so much toleration, and 
such an unlimited freedom of religious opin- 
ions and ceremonials, been displayed as under 
the British Government in India''; and in no 
situation have so few measures been pursued 
by British subjects, for the conversion of the 
people to the religion which we profess. No 
Englishmen have hitherto been employed on 
this duty in the provinces of the Peninsula ; 
and, from the almost total absence of religious 
establishments in the interior of the country, 
and from the habits of life prevalent among 
military men, it is a melancholy truth, that s@ 



REMARKS. 



imfrequent are the religious observances of Of- 
ficers doing duty with battalions, that the Se- 
poys have not, until very lately, discovered the 
nature* of the religion professed by the Eng- 
lish." — East India Papers, No. 194, p. 5. 

12. Tiie second assumption, on which the 
Bengal Government rest their justification, is, 
66 That I hey were by no means hostile to the 
introduction of Christianity into India." I am 
satisfied that they are favourable to the diffu- 
sion of Christianity at this present time; but, 
in regard to their sentiments at a former period, 
any further observation is rendered quite un- 
necessary, after the disclosure that has been 
maife by the publication of the Indian corres- 
pondence. 

In their letter of the 2& Nov. 1807 5 before 
quoted, they suggest to the Honourable Court 
" to discourage any accession to the number of 
Missionaries actually employed, under the pro- 
tection of the British Government in India, in 
the work of conversion" This suggestion ful- 
ly developes the feeling of that period. Those 
Missionaries who are now here we will re- 
strain : you will be pleased to discourage any 
accession to the number ; so Brahma will enjoy 
an eternal reign. The Honourable Court seem 
to have been a little distressed at the perusal of 
this suggestion: — they replied to it in the fol- 
lowing terms: 

" Having explained to you, as briefly as pos- 
sible, the principles on which we wish you to 
mi with regard to the Missionaries, it remain 5 

•* Query t How. when,, and where they discovered it ? 



96 



MEMARKS.* 



for us only to advert k> your suggestion, 6 thai 
we should diseourage any accession to the num- 
ber of Missionaries actually employed, under 
the British Government in India, in the work 
of conversion. 9 You are, of course, aware 
that many of the meritorious individuals who 
have devoted themselves to those labours, were 
not British subjects, or living under our autho- 
rity, and that none of the Missionaries have 
proceeded to Bengal with our licence." 

13. It remains that we notice the reception 
which the Letter of the Bengal Government, in 
answer to my Memorial, met with in England; 
first, from the Court of Directors ; and second- 
ly, from the Board of Controul. 

The Court of Directors made no observation 
upon it at all ; being content to insert a single 
paragraph communicated to them by the Board 
of Controul.* But the reply which the 11 on- 

* The Honourable Court might have been reluctant 
to convey any special censure for my endeavors to pro- 
mote religion in India., from the consideration that they 
had, on my first going* to that country, recommended 
the interests of Christianity strongly to my attention, 
When I was appointed a Chaplain for Bengal, in 1796, 
I received a public charge from the Court of Directors 
on the occasion. I was desired to attend the Court in 
my Clerical robes ; and the Chairman, Sir Stephen Lush- 
ington, addressed me on the importance of my office, 
and on the duties imposed on a minister of religion in 
India. His speech, which was evidently composed with 
much care, occupied about a quarter of an hour or 
more in the delivery. The venerable Baronet observed 5 
that French principles were sapping the foundations of 
Christianity and of social order; and he earnestly in- 
culcated on me the duty of defending- and proaioting 



REMARKS. 



curable Court made to the contemporaneous 
letter of the Bengal Government, detailing their 
proceedings concerning the Missionaries, must 
not be passed over. The Honourable Court 
iirst praises the conduct of their Indian Govern- 
ment generally, and then proposes a different 
mode of proceeding for their governance m 
future. "If," say they, "you had foreseen 
that the Missionaries would have shewn that 
entire and ready suhmissiveness to Government 
which their conduct has manifested, we think 
you would have doubted of the expediency of 
holding, under the circumstances you have de- 
scribed, a public proceeding upon their 

the principles of the Christian Religion, by every pro- 
per means. I was much affected by the solemnity of 
the occasion, and by the energy and feeling- with which 
the address was delivered ; and the subject of the 
charge itself made a great impression on my mind, par- 
ticularly when meditating- on it afterwards, during my 
voyage. 1 trust that my whole life in India has been 
one continued .act of obedience to that charge. If the 
public have received any useful information, or the 
cause of truth any support from my writings, it has 
been owing*, in a great degree, to that admonitory ad- 
dress, delivered to me soon after my leaving College 
and entering on the ministerial office. I doubt not that 
some of the members of the Honorable Court have the 
circumstance in their recollection. 1 well remember a 
gentleman who was then, and is now, a Director, com- 
ing into the Waiting Room, after I had withdrawn from 
the CoUrt, and telling me that the Directors had been 
congratulating their Chairman on his " excellent ser- 
mon." It will be satisfactory to the public to see. that 
my endeavours to promote Christianity in India (in any 
degree that these may have been approved) originated 
in an especial manner wi th the E. India Company itself. 



93 



REMARKS. 



transactions. And we would only suggest,- 
that if, on any future occasion, any fresh pre-' 
cautionary measures should become indispensa- 
ble, it would be desirable, in the first instance 
at least, to see whether a private communica- 
tion from the Governor General might not ef- 
fect ail that is desired, without bringing into 
view the instrumentality of Government."—* 
" We rely on your discretion tliat you will ab- 
stain from all unnecessary or ostentatious inter- 
ference with their proceedings." — The whole 
letter is highly creditable to the judgment of 
the Court of Directors of the East India Com- 
pany. It is a model for official writing and 
temperate rebuke. But its highest praise is, 
with one exception, that it maintains just and 
dignified views concerning the extension of 
Christianity in India, both in relation to the 
well- being of the natives and to the security of 
the British Government.* 

The Board of Controul penned a brief reply, 
containing the following sentence, written with 
great spirit and with good temper : — " We 
shall content ourselves at present with remark- 
ing, that Dr. Buchanan, as well as all other Ec- 
clesiastics who promulgate the doctrines of 
Christianity in India, and who bestow such 
just and merited encomiums on the conduct of 
the Missionary Swartz, would do well to 
adopt it as the model of their own 3 and should 
always recollect that discretion and moderation, 
in their language and actions, are most con- 
sistent with the mild spirit of our religion, and 



* See the Letter^ No. II. Appendix, 



REMARKS. 



99 



are indispensably requisite for those who are 
employed in prosecuting the laborious work of 
conversion." 

The Board of Controul probably did not in- 
tend it; but they may be assured that the Sec- 
retaries in Bengal, on the first view of the 
above conspicuous euiogiurn on Swartz, would 
instinctively say, " That is intended for us, 
because we suppressed, in the Calcutta Gazette, 
the encomium on Swartz transmitted by the 
Court of Directors." 

As for myself, I regret that this salutary ad- 
monition, penned in 1808, should not have been, 
conveyed to me sooner than last week, when it 
was printed by the Honourable the House of 
Commons. But it is good advice at all times. 
I have now only to say, that I shall ever be 
happy to suffer a little disparagement, if it 
tend to the exaltation of so excellent and ex- 
emplary a character as the Missionary alluded 
to. I will further add, that I hardly know a 
circumstance which could have given me great- 
er pleasure, than to see the British Government 
and the East India Company combining to- 
gether, in an official and solemn manner, to 
propose to English Ecclesiastics an imitation 
of the conduct and example of the apostplio 
Swartz. 

Kirby Hall, Borobridge, 
25th June, 1813, 



APPENDIX. 



No. I. 

Copy of a Letter from the Bengal Government 
to the Secret Committee of the Court of Direc- 
tors? dated the 7th December. ISO?. ( Ex- 
tracted f rom the East India Papers, printed 
by order of the House of Commons, Jyb* 142, 
pp. 74— 79 J 

r V 

TO THE HON. THE SECRET COMMITTEE OF 
THE HON. THE COURT OF DIRECTORS. 

Honourable Sirs, 

THE Governor General has judged it to be 
Ins duty to communicate to the Board, a Letter 
mid Memorial addressed to his Lordship by the 
Reverend Mr. Buchanan, one of the Chap- 
lains of this Presidency, in consequence of the 
measures adopted by this Government, rela- 
tively to the proceedings of the Society of Mis- 
sionaries for the propagation of the Gospel, 
(the details of which we had the honour to re- 
port to your Honourable Committee in our 
despatch of the 2d ultimo.) That Memorial, 
containing animadversions on the measures to 
which we have adverted, introduced -in a man- 
ner which we consider to he personally disre- 
spectful to the Governor General, as well as 



APPENDIX, 



101 



disrespectful to the Government, and ascribing 
to both, motives and principles of action, of a 
nature injurious to the character of the British 
Administration in India ; we deem it proper to 
transmit to your Honourable Committee the 
enclosed copies of that Letter and Memorial, 
and at the same time to state such observations 
as the tenor of the latter appears to us to ren- 
der necessary, 

2. Of the acts which Mr. Buchanan has 
stated as the acts of the British Government in 
India, and the circumstances of which M 1 ". 
Buchanan has explained and censured, under 
the present Governor General's supposed igno- 
rance of them, the principal are those which 
formed the subject of our despatch to your 
Honourable Committee of the 2d ultimo ; and 
all are referred ostensibly to the prejudices and 
counsel of the officers of Government: and Mr. 
Buchanan has ascribed to the late and present 
Government the adoption of measures directed 
to the object of opposing the progress of Chris- 
tianity in India, on the foundation of opinions 
inculcated by its officers. The comments on 
the late measures of the present administration, 
contained in Mr. Buchanan's Memorial, are 
founded on the disrespectful and unauthorized 
presumption, that the Governor General, re- 
gardless of the first principle of his public duty, 
has blindly submitted to the guidance of the 
subordinate officers of Government, and adop- 
ted measures of the highest importance, with- 
out a previous consideration of their origin and 
tendency, and even without a previous knowl- 
edge of the nature of them $ and your Honoura- 
9* 



APPENDIX, 



b!e Committee will observe, that Mr. Buchan- 
an has described to his Lordship, as points of 
information, acts and opinions sanctioned by 
his own ofikiai signature as Governor General 
in Council. 

3. It cannot, however, escape observation, 
that the real design of the Memorial is to im- 
pute to the Government those principles of ac- 
tion which are ostensibly ascribed to its offi- 
cers ; and under any circumstances, it is in- 
enmbent onus to obviate a misconception of the 
motives and objects of the recent measures of 
this Government, which a perusal of the Me- 
morial might occasion, if the errors of its state- 
ments should remain unexplained. 

4. With this view it is not necessary to en- 
ter into a discussion of the accuracy of all the 
facts alleged by Mr. Buchanan. It will be 
sufficient to notice those leading points of the 
Memorial on which is founded the extraordinar- 
ily imputation of a systematic design, a id an 
actual attempt, on the part of the present Ad- 
ministration, to support the interests of the re- 
ligions of this country, by preventing the dif- 
fusion of Christianity within the limits of the 
British dominions in India. 

5. Mr. Buchanan has contrasted the en- 
couragement afforded to the propagation of 
Christianity under former Governments, with 
a supposed opposition to it under the last and 
present Administrations. It will be found, 
however, that those proceedings of the Mis- 
sionaries winch have attracted the attention of 
this Government, are of a character entirely 
new, or such aj: least as had hot come under the 



APPENDIX. 



203 



observation of Government. We allude to the 
practice of public preaching in the native 
language at the seat of Government, and to 
ihe circulation of printed works in the sams 
languages, on topics and in terms grossly of- 
fensive to the religious prejudices of our na- 
tive subjects. 

6. With respect to the practice of public 
preaching to the unconverted natives of this 
country, on topics of this nature, we deem the 
prohibition of it to be consistent with the 
principles and practice of those countries in 
which the most liberal toleration is established 
for all religions, and consonant specifically 
with the principles and practice of tlie British 
Government and nation. In England, persons 
who profess toe Roman Catholic faith may as- 
semble aud assist at the performance of the 
rights of their religion in their own chapels, 
without opposition or molestation from the 
Government. Ho may the Jews celebrate the 
rites of their religion in their own synagogues ; 
hut we do not conceive the Cathode or. Jewish 
priests have ever claimed a right to preach 
publicly, not to their own flocks, hut indis- 
criminately to his Majesty's Protestant sub- 
jects, discourses for the express purpose of 
converting that whole Protestant and Christian 
nation to the Catholic or Jewish religion ; 
much less, publicly to revile and insult, in the 
most opprobrious and offensive terms, the tenets 
and ministers of the Church of England. If 
any indiscreet enthusiast of either of the per- 
suasions above mentioned should hold a conduct 
sp. imprudent and so unjustifiable, aud the mag- 



APPENDIX. 



istrate should intervene and silence him, as he 
unquestionably would, we are persuaded that 
so reasonable an interposition of the magistrate 
would neither fall within the real and odious 
principle of persecution, nor experience that 
unmerited reproach from the mouths of the 
rational and ingenuous members of the religion, 
attempted to be propagated in that manner. 
The late prohibition of public preaching in the 
native languages at Calcutta, was given occa- 
sion to, and rendered indispensable, by prac- 
tices similar to those which we have just de- 
scribed ; and was called for, also, by some pe- 
culiarities in the present times too obvious to 
need explanation ; as well as by some actual 
indications of solicitude and incipient irritation 
in the minds of the native public of this city ? 
in consequence of those provocations. 

7. Whether some regulation may not be de^ 
vised, under which the celebration of public 
worship, and the decent performance of the 
Christian rites, may be allowed to native Chris- 
tians, is an interesting point, to which we are 
neither indifferent nor inattentive. The in- 
discreet mode in which those duties were late- 
ly administered, coupled with other considera- 
tions of an occasional and we trust temporary 
nature, required in our judgment, for the mo- 
ment, the immediate suspension of a practice 
which, in the form then given to it, threatened 
consequences prejudicial to the public repose, 
and not less adverse to the success of the pious 
purpose proposed by the Missionaries them- 
selves. 

8. In India, considerations of public safety 
are superadded, in a more than ordinary de* 



APPENDIX. 



205 



gree, to the obligation contracted by Govern- 
ment of protecting the rights anil privileges of 
the subject ; and we cannot doubt that the wis- 
dom of every former administration in India 
w^aid have suggested the necessity of prohibit- 
ing this practice, if known to prevail in the 
manner in which it recently prevailed in the 
seat of Government. 

9. Mr. Buchanan, by the tenor of his Me- 
morial, has permitted a conclusion to*be drawn; 
that printed works, of the nature described in 
the dih paragraph of this despatch, have been 
circulated under former Governments without 
opposition or controal, and that the suppres- 
sion of them is an innovation in principle, as 
well as in act, upon the practice of preceding 
administrations. The existing restrictions up- 
on the press in India, however, have been in 
force during a Song course of years : and it 
cannot be supposed that any former adminis- 
tration would have deemed it consistent with 
the public safety, or with the obligation of pub- 
lic faith, as pledged to the native subjects of 
the Company, for the unmolested exercise of 
their religions, to permit the circulation of 
such inflammatory works as those which we 
L ive lately had occasion to bring under the no- 
tice of your Honourable Committee. In ^up- 
port of this opinion, we deem it proper to state 
the circumstances of a transaction which oc- 
curred during the administration of Marquis 
Weiiesley, aualagous to the proceedings of the 
present Government in suppressing the public 
discussion, either by preaching or by printed 
works, of topics offensive to the religions of 
our native subjects. 



APPENDIX. 



10. In. the year 1804, the following subjeel 
of disputation, in the College of Fort William, 
having been proposed, viz. "The advantage 
which the natives of this country might derive 
from translations, in the vernacular tongues, 
of the books containing the principles of their 
respective religions, and those of the Christian 
faith the prepared discussion of which sub- 
ject was reported to involve topics offensive to 
the religious prejudices of the class of Ma- 
homedans ; a number of the most respectable 
and learned of the Mussulman inhabitants of 
Calcutta addressed a memorial to the Governor 
General, Marquis Wellesley, remonstrating 
against this supposed infringement of the une- 
quivocal toleration which they acknowledged 
with gratitude the Government had till then 
afforded to the unmolested exercise of the re- 
ligions of its subjects. In reply to this me- 
morial, a declaration was addressed to the me- 
morialists, in the name and by the authority of 
the Governor General ; in which, after advert-? 
ing, as a fundamental principle of the British 
Government, to the solicitude with which Gov- 
ernment not only abstained from all interference 
in the religious concerns of its Mussulman and 
Hindoo subjects, and from any endeavour to 
disturb their faith or to impede that full and 
free exercise of their respective religions which 
they enjoyed under the Mussulman Govern- 
ment, but even afforded additional facilities to 
them in the observance of all the rites, cere- 
monies, and duties of their respective persua- 
sions ; and after explaining to the memorialists 
the error of their apprehensions regarding t\m 



APPENDIX. 



object and design of the disputation which 
been proposed, and the real purpose of the 
putations annually holden in the College 
Ftfrt William, and assuring the meuioriali 
that the examination of any question whatev 
connected with the interests of religion, ai 
especially the degradation of the religions 
this country and the propagation of the Chri 
tian faith, were entirely foreign to the objec 
of the institution, the Governor General sign 
fied to the memorialists, that although, on pe- 
rusing the proposed thesis, he perceived no 
principle of an objectionable tendency, yet that, 
with a view to prevent the possibility of any 
apprehension on the part of the natives of this 
country that it might be the intention of tlie 
British Government to depart from the system 
of unlimited toleration which it had hitherto 
uniformly observed, the moment that the Gov- 
ernor General was apprized of the subject of 
the proposed thesis, he issued orders positively 
prohibiting the disputation upon that thesis ; 
and copies of this declaration were, circulated 
to all the principal stations under this Presi- 
dency, and to the foreign Residencies, with a 
view to enable the officers and representatives 
of Government to counteract at those stations 
any eventual alarm of the nature of that which 
had been excited at the Presidency. 

11. From this transaction may be inferred 
not only the effect which public discussions re- 
specting the religions of the country are calcu- 
lated to produce, but also the solicitude of that 
very administration to which Mr. Buchanan 
lias specially appealed, as encouraging the pro- 



/ 



APPENDIX. 

iicn of the Christian faith in India, to 
ress discussions such as those which we 
| deemed it our duty to prohibit. 
I The composition of works directed to 
object of converting the natives to Christi- 
ity, so naturally leads to discussions of that 
iture, that the evils resulting from the latter 
oust necessarily be hazarded by an unrestrain- 
ed toleration of the former; and our decision 
A:pon this new question has been regulated not 
by any innovation on former established prin- 
ciples, but by those maxims of prudence and 
precaution which the condition of the British 
establishment in this country requires, and the 
neglect of which would, in our decided judg- 
ment, not only expose to hazard the stability 
of the British dominion in India, but would im- 
pede the accomplishment of the very object 
which animates the pious labours of the So- 
ciety of Christian Missionaries in the work of 
conversion. 

13. These consequences must he hazarded 
in a peculiar degree by a supposed, connection 
between the efforts thus employed for the con- 
version of the natives, and the measures of the 
Government, which, on grounds already slated, 
have been rendered by the highest prescriptive 
authority, and by the uniform practice of the 
..British Government in India, systematically 
distinct; and in our despatch to your Honorable 
Committee, of the 2d ultimo, we have explain- 
ed the circumstances which, in the present con- 
dition of the British power in India, more than 
at any former period, would tend to establish 
m the mind a of the natives a belief of that con- 



APPENDIX. 



109 



flection under the unlimited toleration of those 
proceedings on the part of the Missionaries 
which we have deemed it our duty to repress. 

14<. The expediency and necessity of protect* 
ing our native subjects in the undisturbed en- 
joyment of their religious opinions and usages^ 
and of carefully withholding the influence of 
Government for the support of the endeavours 
of Missionaries to convert the natives to Chris- 
tianity ; in other words, the real principles of 
action and maxims of precaution which have 
regulated the proceedings of this Government 
with respect to the Missionaries and to the pro- 
ductions of their press, have been recognized 
and inculcated in the most forcible and explicit 
terms, in the following extracts from the letter 
of the Honourable the Court of Directors to the 
Government of Fort St. George, dated the 29th 
of May, ou the subject of the mutiny at Vellore. 

" In the whole course of our administration 
of the Indian territories, it has been our known 
and declared principle to maintain a perfect to- 
leration of the various religions systems which 
prevailed in it, to protect the followers of each 
in the undisturbed enjoy meat of their respective 
opinions and usages, and neither to interfere 
with them ourselves, nor to suffer them to be 
molested by others" 

64 When we afforded our countenance and 
sanction to Missionaries who have from time to 
time proceeded to India, for the purpose of pro- 
pagating the Christian Religion, it was far 
from being in our contemplation to add the in- 
fluence of our authority to any attempts they 
inight make; for on the contrary we were per- 

10 



110 



AFPENB1X. 



fectly aware that the progress of real conver- 
sion would be slow and gradual, arising more 
from a conviction of the principles of our reli- 
gion itself, and from the pious examples of its 
teachers, than from any endue influence, or 
from the exertions of authority, which are ne- 
ver to be resorted to in such cases. 5 ' 

15. Your Honourable Committee will be sa- 
tisfied, by the tenor of our present di&patch, and 
of our despatch of the 2d ultimo, that these are 
precisely the principles which have regulated 
our late proceedings with regard to the Mis- 
sionaries ; and that Mr. Buchanan, in ascrib- 
ing to- m a disposition hostile to Christianity, 
lias assumed a latitude of censure equally disre- 
spectful in its nature and unwarranted by facts. 

16. With respect to the injurious position 
stated in Mr. Buchanan's Memorial, that under 
the proceedings sanctioned by this Government, 
the tendency of publications directed to the ob- 
ject of converting the natives is submitted to the 
decision of a Mahomedan or a Hindoo, it is ob- 
vious to remank, that Government itself is com- 
petent to judge of it through the medium of 
translation ; that the intervention of a native 
Is not necessary to enable us to obtain informa- 
tion regarding the contents of any publication 
in the Persian, Arabic, Hindostanee, or Ben- 
galee languages ; and that our late proceedings 
with regard to the works, of which translations 
were enclosed in our despatch to your Honour- 
able Committee of the 2d ultimo, was the result 
of our own judgment of the nature and tenden- 
cy of those works. 

17. The intimation contained in Mr.' Bu- 
chanan's Memorial^ that this Government has 



APPENDIX. 



ill 



established a new and specific imprimatur with 
respect to works on theology, appears to us to 
require some observations relative to the nature 
and effect of the restrictions on the press, which 
since their original establishment have eonti- 
lined to operate without relaxation. 

18. This intimation, although bearing refer- 
ence to those publications of the press at Se- 
rampore which we have judged it necessary to 
prohibit or restrain, appears to be principally 
founded on the requisition noticed at the com- 
mencement of Mr. Buchanan's Memorial, on the 
subject of submitting certain Discourses on the 
Prophecies, which Mr. Buchanan proposed to 
publish, to the inspection of Government previ- 
ously to their publication. It is proper therefore 
to explain the circumstances of that transaction. 

19. The Superintendant of the Company's 
Press having received from Mr. Buchanan the 
draft of an advertisement, which announced 
the intended publication of Mr. Buchanan's 
Sermons preached in the Presidency Church, 
on the Prophecies, deemed it his duty to obtain 
the sanction of Government to the publication 
of those Sermons, and consequently to the in- 
sertion, in the Government Gazette, of the ad- 
vertisement announcing their intended publica- 
tion, and accordingly communicated the draft 
of the proposed advertisement, to Government 
through the channel of its officers. Upon this 
reference, the Chief Secretary was directed to 
request, that Mr. Buchanan would send the 
manuscript for the inspection of Government, 
previously to its pub! tiou ; and under this 
order, the publication \j{ the advertisement also 



X12 



APPENDIX. 



was* of course suspended. This transaction is 
considered by Mr. Buchanan to amount to a I 
suppression of the Sermons on the Prophecies, j 
because a condition was attached to the publi- 
cation of them, which Mr. Buchanan errone- 1 
ously supposed to be the revision of them by 
the officers of Government, a condition to which ] 
lie could not conscientiously accede, 

20, Mr. Buchanan however must be suppos- 
ed to object to the revision of those discourses 
by the Government itself, as the condition of 
their publication, because the charge of establ- 
ishing an imprimatur on works of theology, if 
it does not refer to the revision of the Govern- 
ment, is founded^ as far as relates to the dis- 
courses in question, on an erroneous construc- 
tion of the Chief Secretary's requisition, which 
expressly declared that the manuscript was to 
be submitted to the inspection of Government. 

21. Not having had an opportunity of peru- 
sing those discourses, we can form no judgment 
of the propriety of their publication. The 
printing an exposition of the sacred prophecies 
would certainly, as such, have met with no op^ 
position from us ; nor would the prophecy, 
most disrespectfully and improperly stated by 
Mr. Buchanan as a particular object of alarm 
to us, viz. the final conversion of all mankind 
to the Christian faith, have rendered the publi- 
cation in our judgment objectionable. At the 
same time, if in commenting on that prophecy, 
Mr, Buchanaa should have been found to have 
introduced into his discourses strictures on the 
religion of the Maho dans and Hindoos, of 
the nature of those w hich, in the form of works 



APPENDIX, 



113 



published for the perusal of the natives of this 
country, we had deemed it our duty to suppress, 
or to have enlarged on the topic of the imme= 
diate and general conversion of our subjects in 
the East to Christianity, we should probably 
have judged the promulgation of such remarks 
from the pulpit of the Presidency and the press 
of Government, to be unseasonable and inexpe- 
dient, in the present conjuncture of affairs. 

22. Of this nature only are the restrictions 
which we desire to impose on the publication of 
theological works in this country. Those re- 
strictions obviously form a part of that general 
controui which, in the actual state of our do- 
minion in India, it is indispensably necessary 
to impose on the productions of the press, for 
the security of the public interests and the pre- 
servation of the public tranquility in this im- 
portant branch of the British empire. Such 
restrictions have virtually existed during the 
whole period of the British supremacy ia In- 
dia : the occasion for the active exercise of 
them has only recently occurred. 

23. Religious discussions, as being calculat- 
ed in a peculiar degree to affect the public 
tranquillity, are the direct and proper objects 
of a general controui, which has been establish- 
ed over the productions of the press, for pur- 
poses of national interest and public security ; 
and in India, more than in ali other countries, 
the controui of religious publications is indis- 
pensable for the public safety. 

3& This necessity cannot be exemplified in 
terms more just or more forcible than in the foK 
lowing extract from a work published bv Mr 
10* 



s 



114 



APPENDIX* 



Buchanan in England, and entitled, *f A Me- 
moir on the Expediency of an Ecclesiastical 
Establishment in India. 5 ' 

" The Mahomedans profess a religion which 
lias ever been characterized by political bigotry 
and intemperate zeal. In this country that re- 
ligion still retains the character of its bloody 
origin, particularly among the higher classes. 
Whenever the Mahomed an feels his religion 
touched, he grasps his dagger. This spirit was 
seen in full operation under Tippoo's govern- 
ment, and it is not now extinguished." 

25. The practical effect of this sanguinary 
spirit of bigotry, as exemplified in the mutiny 
of Vellore, and in the events which succeeded 
it, can hardly escape observation ; for although 
Mr. Buchanan, on the ground of his personal 
communication with some of the natives on the 
coast, is of opinion that the insurrection at Vel- 
lore had no connection with the Christian re- 
ligion directly or indirectly, immediately or re- 
motely, we are compelled to form a different 
judgment, from the mass of authentic evidence 
and information on that unhappy event, record- 
ed on the proceedings of Government ; and we 
are satisfied that a persuasion (a most errone- 
ous one indeed, but a firm and sincere persua- 
sion) in the breasts of a great proportion of 
the Sepoys who were thus betrayed into the ex- 
ecution of the massacre of Vellore, and of those 
who subsequently manifested a spirit of insur- 
rection, that a design existed on the part of the 
British Government to operate a general con- 
version of the inhabitants of India to Christi 
anity, was one of the most efficient causes of 



APPENDIX. 



il5 



that horrible disaster. Responsible therefore 
to our Sovereign, to our immediate superiors, 
and to our country, for the security and tran- 
quillity of this empire, we should have neglect- 
ed a primary obligation of our public duty, if 
at any period of time, but especially while 
such impressions were recent, we had permit- 
ted the circulation within the British territo- 
ries, of works reviling the religions of our 
subjects, and distinctly declaring a desire to 
convert them to the Christian faith. Under 
the influence of the same sentiments and cir- 
cumstances also, we cannot but question the 
prudence of publishing, with the sanction of 
the supreme British authority in India, the ap* 
proaching and instant conversion of the inhab- 
itants of this country to Christianity. 

26. The imposition of a restraint, therefore, 
on the promulgation of writings of the above 
description, is but the application of a long au- 
thorized and existing controul over the conduct 
of the press, to the most important of the ob- 
jects for which that controul was originally es- 
tablished ; and consequently, as far as the pub- 
lic safety is concerned, works on theology, like 
works on other subjects, must be considered to 
be subject to a civil revision. 

27. It is true, that no direct controul over 
the press of the Missionaries at Serampore, 
had been specifically declared to exist, or had 
ever been exercised by the British Government, 
because no abuse of that press had attracted 
notice. But under the peculiar circumstances 
of Che settlement of Serampore, and of the 
press established in it, our right to controul the 



116 



APPENDIX. 



productions of the Missionary Press cannot be 
disputed. 

28. The population of Serampore cannot af- 
ford employment to a press in any degree suf- 
ficient to support the charges attending it. 
The only purposes connected with the concerns 
of the Danish Government, or of the inhabit- 
ants of Serampore, to wijieh the press of the 
Missionaries was applied, were (as stated by 
the Governor of that settlement, in his letter of 
the 30th of September,) the publishing of re- 
gulations and advertisements of public and pri- 
vate sales. All works printed at that press 
were necessarily intended for circulation in the 
British territories, and were so circulated, and 
the pamphlets which attracted our notice were 
sent to this Presidency and its vicinity, for dis- 
tribution among our native subjects. 

29. The Missionaries themselves are all 
British subjects ; Mr. Carey, the chief mem- 
ber of the Society, holds the situation of Pro- 
fessor of the Shanserit and Bengalee languages 
in the College of Fort William, and the lead- 
ing members occasionally reside at this Presi- 
dency. The Danish Government permitted, 
and motives of convenience induced, them to 
establish their press at Serampore. But the 
press is principally supported by the aid and 
encouragement afforded by the Asiatie Society 
and the College of Fort William. It is con- 
sequently, to all intents and purposes, a Brit- 
ish Press : and it's productions must necessari- 
ly be considered by the community at large, ta 
issue under the patronage and sanction of the 
British Government. The same considerations* 



APPENDIX. 



117 



therefore, which require the exercise of an ef- 
ficient controul over the presses established at 
this Presidency, are equally applicable to the 
press at Serampore. When its productions 
were found to be of a nature hazardous to the 
public tranquillity, it became the absolute duty 
of this Government to give effect to that con- 
troul; and adverting to the inconvenience, and 
in some degree the inefficiency, under whfth 
the controul of a press established in a foreign 
jurisdiction must be exercised, we deemed it 
adviseable to simplify and facilitate the execu- 
tion of that system, by requiring that a press^ 
the productions of which were to circulate ex- 
elusively in the British territories, should be 
transferred to those territories, and be brought 
fairly and ostensibly within the scope of that 
observation which was entitled to controul it. 
We therefore desired the Missionaries to re- 
move their press to Calcutta ; apprising the 
Danish Governor, at the same time, that we 
had deemed it necessary to signify that desire 
to the Missionaries, and stating to him the 
grounds of the measure. 

SO. The right of the British Government to 
exercise a controul over the press of Seram- 
pore, and for that purpose to require the trans- 
fer of it to the Presidency, was not contested 
T)y the Governor of Serampore ; who, far from 
resisting the demand for its removal on the plea 
of the sovereignty of his nation, as erroneously 
asserted by Mr, Buehauan, merely solicited the 
revocation of that demand, on the ground of 
the distress to which the Missionaries would 
be exposed by our exacting a compliance with 



.118 



APPENDIX. 



it ; stating an additional inducement, in the 
convenience which the Government and inhab- 
itants of Serampore experienced from the use 
of the press, in publishing regulations and ad- 
vertisements of public and private sales. 

31. We at the same time received from the 
Missionaries the Memorial, of which a copy 
formed an enclosure in our dispatch to your 
Honourable Committee of the 2d ultimo 5 where- 
in the Missionaries represented the peculiar 
circumstances of their property at Serampore, 
and explained the very serious and distressing 
consequences to the individuals composing the 
Mission, as well as to the body itself, and to a 
considerable number of families connected with 
them as servants and dependents, which w ould 
result from the removal of the press from Se- 
rampore. Being satisfied of the truth of these j 
representations, and nothing being further from 
our views and disposition than to affect in the 
smallest degree either the interests of the mis- 
sionary body or the personal comfort and con- 
venience of those worthy individuals, we with- 
drew without hesitation that part of the meas- 
ure, and remained satisfied with the assurance 
of the Missionaries, that the works to be here- 
after printed at Serampore should be previous- 
ly submitted to the revision and sanction of our 
Government. 

32. The attention with which we listened to 
the representations of the Missionaries, con- 
cerning the distress which the removal of their 
press would occasion, was acknowledged by 
them in terms of fervent gratitude ; and in re- 
ply to our letter communicating to the Cover- 



APPENDIX. 



119 



nor of Serampore our compliance with -he so- 
licitation of the Missionaries, his Excellency 
expressed " his most grateful acknowledgments 
for the moderation we had so generously mani- 
fested" on this occasion. 

33. It will be evident, from the facts and ob- 
servations which we have stated to your Hon- 
ourable Committee, that no innovation has ta- 
ken place in the principles and practice of this 
Government, relatively to the controul of the 
productions of the press ; that no new and 
specific imprimatur has been established for 
works on theology, but that the restrictions 
which virtually existed with regard to publica- 
tions in general, were practically applied to the- 
ological works, only when works of that class, 
containing strictures on the religions of the 
country in terms the most irritating and offen- 
sive, by being circulated among our native sub- 
jects, exposed the public tranquillity to hazard. 

34. Mr. Buchanan's indecent com meuts on 
our reply to the reference of the Governor of 
Serampore, relative to the translation of the 
Bible (which reply Mr. Buchanan has commu- 
nicated to the Governor General, as a poiifi of 
information, and as a subject of concern. to his 
Lordship) merely suggest the expediency of re- 
marking, that we should deem it our duty to 
oppose the publication of any strictures on the 
religions of the country, such as we have al- 
ready suppressed^ whether promulgated in the 
form of separate tracts, or of prefatory notes 
to a translation of the Holy Scriptures * 

35. Our solicitude for the suppression of 
publications of that nature, combines will*, a 



±20 



APPENDIX. 



vigilant attention to the public safety and tran 
quillity, a regard for the successful propaga- 
tion of the truths of Christianity among the 
misguided natives of these distant countries, 
by the only means which can promote its suc- 
cess, — the operation of example in the conduct 
of its preachers and professors, in the princi- 
ples which it inculcates, and in the effects 
which it produces on the dignity of individual 
character, and on the general happiness and 
welfare of mankind ; united also with the means 
of instruction, when instruction is desired : but 
unconnected with the language of irritation, 
with revilings against the religions of the coun- 
try, and with prophetic denunciations of their 
immediate subversion. 

36. We shall conclude this discussion by ob- 
serving, that it has never been in the contem- 
plation, either of the present or the preceding 
administration of this Government, to controul 
or impede the pious labours of the Missiona- 
ries, while conducted in the manner which pru- 
dence dictates, and which the orders of the 
Honourable Court have distinctly prescribed. 
But when the mistaken zeal of the Missiona- 
ries exceeded those limits which considerations 
of public safety, and even a solicitude for the 
propagation of Christian knowledge among the 
misguided natives of these countries, have wise- 
ly imposed; when publications and public 
preachings, calculated not to conciliate and 
convince but to irritate the minds of the peo- 
ple, were brought to the notice of Government, 
the interposition of the ruling power became 
necessary to preclude the apprehended effects 



APPENDIX. 



121 



of these dangerous and unprofitable proceed- 
ings. 

We have the honour to be, &c. &c. 
(Signed) MINTO, 

G. HEWETT, 
G. H. BARLOW. 
J. LUMSDEN. 

Fort William, fth December, 1807. 



No. II. 

Extract of a Letter from the Court of Direc- 
tors, to the Governor General in Council at 
Fort William in Bengal; dated 7th Septem- 
ber, 1S08. 

Para. 1. WE have received, by the Gene- 
ral Stuart, your letter of the 2d November last, 
addressed to the Secret Committee, on the sub- 
ject of certain publications which had issued 
from the Missionary Press at Serampore, and 
detailing the proceedings which you Lad 
thought it advisable to adopt with regard to 
them. 

2. Whatever is connected with an attempt 
to introduce Christianity among the natives of 
British India, cannot but be felt as a subject of 
the greatest importance, and of the greatest 
delicacy; and we lament that circumstances 
should have occurred in any part of our terri- 
tories, to call for the interference of our Gov- 
ernment in matters of that description. We 
<tre anxious that it should be distinctly under - 
11 



122 



APPENDIX 



stood, that we are very far from being averse 
to the .introduction of Christianity into India, 
or indifferent to the benefits which would result 
from the general diffusion of its doctrines ; but 
we have a fixed and settled opinion, that noth- 
ing could be more unwise and impolitic, noth- 
ing even more likely to frustrate the hopes and 
endeavours of those who aim at the very ob- 
ject, the introduction of Christianity among 
the native inhabitants, than any imprudent or 
injudicious attempt to introduce it by means 
which should irritate and alarm their religious 
prejudices. That the publication which first 
excited your attention, as well as the paper 
which von transmitted to us, marked C. entit- 
led " The Rise of Wisdom, 9 ' is calculated to 
produce those effects, we conceive can admit of 
no doubt 5 and we entirely approve of your 
endeavours to interrupt the circulation of them. 
Indeed the Missionaries themselves seem to re- 
gret and to condemn their publication. Per- 
haps some doubt might be fairly entertained 
whether a considerable part of the paper mark- 
ed was of a nature to have excited similar 
feelings, if the other publications did not pre- 
pare the mind to receive with some jealousy 
any works which issued from the same press. 
In suggesting the possibility of this doubt, we 
by no means intend to convey any disapproba- 
tion of that prudent precaution which led you 
to prevent the further publication of this last, 
together with those which appear to us to be 
more unquestionably exceptionable. It is a 
matter of great difficulty to draw the line 
which should at once describe and characterize 



APPENDIX. 



123 



the publications which might he permitted to 
he considered us inoffensive, and at the same 
lime distinguish them from those which a pro- 
per precaution would suppress ; and at this dis- 
tance from the scene of Government, we can 
only state to you those general principles which 
we are desirous should direct your conduct upon, 
this point. For this purpose, we would refer 
you to a passage in our political letter to Fort 
St. George of the 29th May, 4807, in which 
we briefly intimated, in the following terms, 
our sentiments of what the character and con- 
duct of Christian Missionaries in India, and 
the carriage of the Company's Government to- 
wards them ought to be. 64 When we afforded 
our countenance and sanction to the Missiona- 
ries who have from time to time proceeded to 
India for the purpose of propagating the Chris- 
tian Religion, it w as far from being in our con- 
templation to add the influence of our authori- 
ty to any attempts they might make ; for, on 
the contrary, w e were perfectly aware that the 
progress of real conversion would be gradual 
and slow, arising more from a conviction of 
the purity of the principles of our religion it- 
self, and from the pious example of its teach- 
ers, than from any undue influence, or from the 
exertions of authority, which are never to be 
resorted to in such eases." In the same spirit 
we would still wish to affirm as a principle, the 
desirableness of imparting the knowledge of 
Christianity to the natives of British India ; 
hut we must also contend, that the means to be 
used for that end shall be only such as slmll be 
free from any political danger or alarm. 



12* 



APPENDIX. 



3. With these two positions, which appear 
fo us to be fundamental on the subject in ques- 
tion, the 39th paragraph of your despatch now 
before us, in substance corresponds ; for you 
there, after acknowledging " your entire con- 
viction of the correctness of the statement which 
the Memorial of the Missionaries contains, re- 
lative to the motives and objects of their zeal 
for the propagation of the sacred doctrines of 
Christianity, 55 observe, " Our duty as guardians 
of the public welfare, and even a consentaneous 
solicitude for the diffusion of the blessings of 
Christianity, merely require us to restrain the 
efforts of that commendable zeal within those 
limits, the transgression of which would, in our 
decided judgment, expose to hazard the public 
safety and tranquillity, without promoting its 
intended object." Agreeing then with you in 
general views on this question, and impressed 
with the necessity of leaving the application of 
these principles to the discretion of the Govern- 
ment upon the spot, we feel that we have but 
little further to suggest to you upon that part 
of the subject. * 

4. We observe with great satisfaction the 
temperate and respectful conduct of the Society 
of Missionaries, in the discussions which took 
place on the subject of the publications to which 
your attention was directed, and of the measures 
which you felt yourselves called upon to adopt; 
and we entirely approve of the permission 
which you granted to them of continuing their 
press at Serampore. Their residence at that 
place would probably be attended with little ad- 
ditioimJ inconvenience to your Government 3 



APPENDIX, 



125 



and we conclude, moreover, that the British 
authority has long ago been established at (he 
different Danish settlements in India. We are 
well aware that the progress of the Missiona- 
ries, both Catholic and Protestant, for a long 
period of years, has not been attended with in- 
jurious consequences : their numbers have not 
been sufficient to excite alarm, and their gene- 
ral conduct has been prudent and conciliatory ; 
and we have no reason to suppose that the 
mere circulation, in a peaceable and unobtru- 
sive manner, of translations of the Scriptures, 
is likely to be attended with consequences dan- 
gerous to the public safely. 

5. The paramount power winch we now pos- 
sess in India, undoubtedly demands from us ad- 
ditional caution upon this subject, it imposes 
upon us the necessity, as well as strengthens 
our obligation, to protect the native inhabitants 
in the free and undisturbed profession of their 
religions opinions, and to take care that they 
are neither harassed* nor irritated by any pre- 
mature or over-zealous attempts to convert 
them to Christianity. 

0. In conveying to you our approbation of 
the controu I which you had determined to ex- 
ercise with regard to such publications as might 
issue from the press of the Missionaries, we 
trust that it will be found not only salutary to 
the interests of Government but even satis- 
factory to the considerate part of *he Mission- 
aries themselves. They must be aware that it 
is quite consistent with doing all justice to the 
excellency of the motives on which they act, to 
apprehend that their zeal may sometimes re* 
11* 



126 



APPENDIX, 



quire a cheek, and- that it may be useful and 
necessary to introduce the controul or super- 
intendance of Government; whose responsibili- 
ty for the public tranquillity will force it U* 
direct its views to those political considerations 
which the zeal of the Missionaries might over- 
look. 

7. If* indeed, you had foreseen that the Mis- 
sionaries would have shewn that entire and 
ready submissiveness to Government which 
their conduct has manifested, we think yot! 
■would have doubted of the expediency of hold- 
ing, under the circumstances you have describ- 
ed, a public proceeding upon their transactions; 
and we would only suggest, that if on any fu- 
ture occasion any fresh precautionary measures 
should become indispensable, and the inter- 
ference of Government be again required, it 
would be desirable, in the first instance at least, 
to see whether a private communication from 
the Governor General might not efteet all that 
is desired, without bringing into view the in* 
strumentality of Government. Its authority 
cannot be seen actively to controul any of their 
proceedings, without exposing it to the inference 
of specially sanctioning and countenancing such 
publications and such conduct as it does not 
prevent, and thereby making the Government 
in some degree a party to the Acts of the Mis- 
sionaries, and making the Missionaries appear 
in the character of the agents of Government. 

8. In adverting to your prohibition of the 
public preaching in Calcutta to the Hindoos 
and Mahomedaus ;. at the time when we ap- 
prove of this measure of precaution, we do not 



APPENDIX 



127 



understand you to object to the Missionaries de- 
cently performing, at their usual places of re- 
sidence, the duties of their religion? in chapels 
or rooms, at which admittance may be given 
to their converts or to other Christians. We 
presume that the number of chaplains which 
we have appropriated for the performance of 
religious duties at Calcutta, is sufficient for all 
the British or other inhabitants of that place 
who comprehend the English language; but 
we do not recollect it to have been your inten- 
tion to preclude other Christians there from 
hearing Divine service performed in a language 
which ^they understand, 

9. Having thus explained to you, as briefly 
as possible, the principles on which we wish 
you to act with regard to the Missionaries, it 
remains for us only to advert to your sugges- 
tion, that we should "discourage any accession 
to the number of Missionaries actually employ- 
ed under the protection of the British Govern- 
ment in India in the work of conversion." Yon 
are of course aware, that many of the merito- 
rious individuals who have devoted themselves 
to those labours, were not British subjects, or 
living under our authority ; and that none of 
the Missionaries have proceeded to Bengal 
with our licence. 

10. Entertaining the sentiments which we 
have expressed in the preceding parts oi tiiis 
despatch, we are very far from disapproving of 
your having refrained from resorting to t fie au- 
thority vested in you by law, and enforcing its 
provisions in all their strictness against the 
Missionaries 5 and we rely on your discretion, 



138 



ATTEND IX* 



that you will abstain from all unnecessary or 
ostentatious interference with their proceedings. 
On the other hand, it will be your bounden duty 
vigilantly to guard the public tranquillity from 
interruption, and to -impress upon the minds of 
ail the inhabitants of India, that the British 
faith, on which they rely for the free exercise 
of their religion, will be inviolably maintained. 



Extract of Letter from the Court of Directors 
to the Governor General in Council at Fort 
William in Bengal, dated 7 th t September* 
isas. 

Para. 1% Since the preceding paragraphs 
were written, your letter of the 7 lit December, 
ISO?', to the Secret Committee, has been re- 
ceived, with copies of the Letter and Memori- 
al addressed to the Governor General by the 
Reverend Dr. Claudius Buchanan. 

13. We desire to express our entire satisfac- 
tion at the explanation which you have thought 
it necessary to give to your proceedings ; and 
as most of the observations winch would natu- 
rally have occurred to us on the perusal of 
those document* have already been stated in 
this letter, we deem it unnecessary to enlarge 
further on this subject. 

14. With every disposition to make due al- 
lowance in favour of ardent zeal in the cause 
of Religion, it w ould have been impossible for 



APPENDIX. 



129 



us to avoid noticing the improper style of Dr. 
Buchanan's Address to the supreme Authority 
in India, if his subsequent departure from 
thence had not in some degree relieved us from 
that necessity. We shall content yourselves at 
present with remarking, that Dr. Buchanan, as 
well as all other Ecclesiastics who promulgate 
the doctrines of Christianity in India, and who 
bestow such just and merited encomiums on the 
conduct of the Missionary Swartz, would do 
well to adopt it as the model of their own ; 
and should always recollect that discretion and 
moderation in their language and actions are 
most consistent with the mild spirit of our re- 
ligion, and are indispensably requisite for those 
who are employed in prosecuting the laborious 
work of conversion. 

[Taken from the East -India Papers, print- 

ed by order of the House of Commons? 

No. 142, pp. \2 — ?4 and p. 8 j.] 



- No. HI. 

Letter from General Hay M' "Dow \alU Comman- 
der in Chief of the Forces under the Presi- 
dency of Fort St. George to the Governor 
and Council of that Presidency; dated 24th 
Nov. 1807, respecting the Mutiny at Vel- 
lore ; with the proceedings of Government 
thereupon. ( Extracted from the East-India 



ISO 



ATTEND IX. 



Papers, printed by order of the House of 
Coin'moits, «M>, 194 5 10 — -12. J 

EXTRACT FORT ST. GEORGE MILITARY CON. 
SULFATIONS, 24th NOV. 1807. 

Read the following Letter from the Comman- 
der in Chief. 

The Chief Secretary to Government, 

Sir, 

IN obedience to the wish expressed by the 
Honourable the Governor in Council, contained 
in the Military Secretary's letter of the 17th 
instant, I have the honour to convey my senti- 
ments ou the important subject. 

The plea of interference in religious scruples 
has been, during many ages, a dreadful weapon 
in the hands of the factious, discontented and 
higoted ; but the emissaries who were said to 
he so assiduously employed in seducing the loy- 
alty and affection of the Sepoys, have happily, 
under this pretext, made little progress in their 
insidious and malignant designs. 

It may occasion some degree of surprise that 
the people of this country should be brought to 
believe, that those who apparently conduct 
themselves with so much apathy in respect to 
what concerns religious worship, should have 
formed any serious scheme for converting whole 
nations of different casts and persuasions to the 
Christian faith. None but the weakest and 
most superstitious could have been deluded by 
=80 improbable a tale; and accordingly we find 
the rumour alluded to w as by no means general, 



J 



APPENDIX* 



and, except at Hydrahad, it had made little 
or no impression. 

In making the above remark on the indifference 
which is manifested in the adoration of the Su- 
ipreme Being, I must add, in justice to the mili- 
tary character, that it chiefly proceeds from a 
want of places (and, at several stations, of 
clergymen) exclusively appropriated for Di- 
vine service; and i trust I shall be excused if 
I suggest the propriety of having convenient 
chapels, of moderate price, constructed in ail 
situations within the Company's territories 
where European troops are likely to be quarter- 
ed. Whatever may be urged to the contrary, 
I am convinced, that s;ich an improvement, in- 
dependent of the obvious advantages, would 
render the British character more respected by 
the natives, and be attended by no evil conse- 
quences. 

Viewing the object of the Honourable Conrt 
of Directors to have been fully anticipated by 
the several orders which have already been 
promulged, and being of opinion that this al- 
most obsolete question ought nnt to be revived, 
[ the discussion should here terminate publicly. 
] take the liberty, however, to propose' to the 
\ Honourable the Governor in Council, that a 

copy of the extract from the despatches of the 
f Honourable Court should be transmitted confi- 
( dentiaUy to General Officers or others, in com- 
e mand of divisions or separate bodies of troops, 
J that the judgment of the Court on this point 
y may be disseminated with delicacy and cautisn, 

1 Madras, / 1 have the honour to be, &c. &c. 

I, 19 Nov. 1807. £ (Signed) HAY M'I)0\VALIt. 



j 



13.2 



APPENDIX. 



Resolved, That the. recommendation of the 
Commander in Chief, tor the construction of 
Chapels at the several stations usually occu- 
pied by European troops, be brought to the no- 
tice of the Honourable the Court of Directors ; 
and that in the mean time the Commander in 
Chief be desired to issue such directions as he 
may deem most proper for ensuring the regular 
performance of Divine worship at those stations, 
without incurring expense in the construction 
or hire of buildings for that particular purpose. 

Resolved, That the Commander in Chief's 
opinion, respecting the inexpediency of publish- 
ing to the native army any further declaration 
^on the subject of their religion and customs, be 
confirmed 5 but that he be authorised, accord- 
ing to his suggestion, to communicate the senti- 
ments expressed by the Honourable Court, re- 
garding the native troops, in a confidential 
manner, to commanding officers of corps and 
stations. 

Extract Military Letter from Fort St. George* 
dated the 24th Dec. 1807. 

46. Your Honourable Court having particu- 
larly adverted, in your political despatch of 
the 59th -May 1807, to the apprehension which 
was supposed to prevail among the native 
troops, that it was intended by the British 
Government to compel them to become eon- 
verts to Christianity, and having furnished us 
with conditional instructions for counteracting 
that unfounded fear, by the formal publication 
of certain Resolutions of a different tendency, 



APPENDIX. 



in the name and by the order of your Honoura- 
able Court, we deemed it proper to furnish the 
Commander in Chief with copies of the para- 
graphs containing your sentiments and instruc- 
tions on that subject. 

47. The general knowledge which we pos- 
sessed of the present state of the native army 
of Fort St. George, induced us to helieve that 
the publication eventually authorized by your 

• Honourable Court, would, under existing cir- 
cumstances, be equally inexpedient and unne- 
cessary ; but considering the particular re- 
sponsibility which attaches to the Commander 
in Chief on every question relating to the fi- 
delity and subordination of the army, it was 
thought proper that his opinion should be for- 
mally required on this point, and that he should 
he requested to state his sentiments fully for 
our consideration. 

48. We consider the Letter which we re- 
ceived from the Commander in Chief, in reply, 
to be highly creditable to that office?, and to 
deserve the particular attention of your Honour- 
able Court. 

49. The Commander in Chief has observed, 
that it may occasion some degree of surprise 
that the people of this country should be brought 
to believe that persons, who apparently conduct 
themselves with so much apathy in respect to 
religious worship, should have formed any se- 
rious scheme for converting whole nations of 
different casts and persuasions to the Christian 
faith ; and Lieutenant General JVPDowalJ is 
accordingly of opinion that the rumour was by 

4 2! 



( 



APPENDIX. 



no Means general, and that, except at Hydra* 
bad, it had made but little impression. 

50. The Commander in Chief has, at the 
same time* in justice to the military character, 
expressed his belief that the indifference mani- 
fested by the European inhabitants of India in 
the adoration of the Supreme Being chiefly 
proceeds from the very limited number of 
clergymen and from a want of places exclusive- 
ly appropriated for Divine service. He has 
therefore suggested the propriety of construct- 
ing convenient chapels at a moderate expense, 
at all stations where European troops may 
probably be quartered % and, whatever may be 
urged to the contrary, he has stated his convic- 
tion that such an improvement, independent of 
its advantages in a religious view, would ren- 
der the British character more respected by the 
natives, and would not be attended by any evil 
consequences. 

51. With respect to the object of your Hon- 
ourable Court, the Commander in Chief consi- 
ders it to have been fully anticipated by the 
several orders already published under the au- 
thority of this Government ; and being of 
opinion that this obsolete question ought not to 
he revived, he has recommenced that the public 
discussion of it should be immediately termina- 
ted. It has however been suggested by Lieu- 
tenant General M'Dowalt, that extracts from 
the despatch of your Honourable Court should 
be transmitted confidentially to commanding 
officers ; that the judgment of your Honourable 
Court, on this point, may be disseminated with 
delicacy and caution. 



APPENDIX. 



135 



5% Entirely concurring in the sentiments 
expressed by the Commander in Chief, we 
have desired him to circulate your orders in 
the manner which he may deem most advisea- 
ble ; and with respect to his suggestion for the 
general construction of chapejs at the principal 
stations of the army, we beg that you will fur- 
nish us with early directions on that subject. 
In the mean time, Lieutenant General M ? Bow- 
all has been requested to issue such orders as 
may appear to be best calculated to ensure the 
regular performance of Divine worship, with- 
out incurring expense in the construction or 
hire of buildings for that particular purpose. 



No. IV, 

Minute of George Udny, Esq. Member of the 
Supreme Council in Bengal, j }ro ^ es ^ n g a " 
gainst " superintending" the idol Jugger- 
naut, " as tending to perpetuate a system of 
gross ido lat ry : ' ' Extra c ted from th e Be nga I 
Judicial Consultations of 3d April, 1806. 
( Taken from the East-India Papers, printed 
by Order of the House of Commons, No. 194, 
p. 41. J 

I APPROVE of the following Regulations, 
with the exception of those parts of it which 
provide for the superintendance and manage- 
ment of the temple at Juggernaatb, and the. 
payment of its officers. 



136 



APPENDIX. 



The making provision by law for such pur- 
poses, it appears to me, would operate to sanc- 
tion, and tend to perpetuate, a system of gross 
idolatry, which Government is neither bound 
nor does it seem becoming in it to do. 

I would leave the temple and its whole 
economy exclusively to the direction and man- 
agement of its own officers, allowing them to 
collect the regular established fees they have 
hitherto been accustomed to do, securing the 
pilgrims at the same time against every thing 
of a vexatious nature from the extortion and 
oppression of those officers. 

If the revenue with which the temple is en- 
dowed be insufficient for its support, I would 
reduce the rate of tax proposed to be levied 
from the pilgrims, relinquishing the remainder 
to be applied to that purpose, in order that 
Government should have no direct concern of 
any kind in what relates to the maintenance 
of the Temple, or the payment of its officers, 
but appropriate solely to its own use the whole 
of the tax levied from the pilgrims by its 
cHfieers. 

(Signed) G. U* 



No. V. 

Letter from Charles Butter, Esq. M. P. to the 
Honourable the Court of Directors, respecting 
the Idol Juggernaut, dated the 19th May? 



APPENDIX. 



137 



1813, ( laid on the table of the House of Com- 
mons, and ordered to be printed, 2&th May, 
1813.) 

TO THE COURT OF DIRECTORS OF THE HON- 
OURABLE EAST INDIA COMPANY. 

Honourable Sirs, 

CONSIDERING the very exaggerated and 
unfounded opinions vvJisch appear to be enter- 
tained in Bngland, in regard to the conduct of 
the Bengal Government at Jaghanath, and in 
respect to the atrocities said to be practised 
there ; it has been suggested to me, as I was 
so long on the spot, and as I had so much to 
do in framing the existing regulations relative 
to \he tax levied from the pilgrims, that 1 
should take an opportunity of giving such in- 
formation as mi slit place the matter in its pro- 
per point of view. The best mode, therefore, 
which presents itself to me of communicating 
the information I possess, is to address myself 
to your Honourable Court. 

The object I have in view is, to correct the 
erroneous opinions which seem to prevail in 
regard to the conduct of our Government, with 
reference to the temple, and to remove the ex- 
aggerated ideas entertained in respect to the 
atrocities said to be practised there. 

With respect to the first point, as Far as I 
can recollect, it seems to be supposed that our 
Government at Bengal is busied in ike controul 
and regulation of Hindoo worship ; and that it 
is actively employed in the encouragement of 
idolatry, for the purpose of revenue. Your 
12* 



138 



APPENDIX. 



Honourable Court must be fully aware how 
studiously the regulations have guarded against 
committing the Government in any way what- 
ever, respecting questions which might arise 
relative to the interior concerns of the temple. 
The clauses which refer to the power reserved 
by Government of removing the Patron of the 
Temple, and to the permission given to the 
head ministerial officers to remonstrate against 
any orders issued by the Patron, afford the on- 
ly possible opportunity for Government to in- 
terfere in regard to the interior. But consi- 
dering the vast power vested in the Patron, 
and the means which he has of extensive op- 
pression and extortion, I considered those pow- 
ers to be essentially necessary; and although 
I am perfectly sensible that they never will be 
exercised, except in an extreme case, yet the 
result of my subsequent experience at the Board 
of Revenue has tended to shew, that it was 
prudent to adopt the clauses in question. 

With regard to the encouragement of idola- 
try, most assuredly nothing of the kind occurs 
on the part of Government; unless, indeed, 
it be supposed that the liberal wish to protect 
and secure its native subjects in the due exer- 
cise of their religious as well as civil liberties 
be pronounced to be an encouragement of idola- 
try. If an anxious desire, on the part of 
Government, to remove all unlawful impedi- 
ments and obstacles from out of the way of the 
Hindoos worshipping with ease and convenience 
to themselves, be construed into an encourage- 
ment of idolatry, in that case, I apprehend the 
Bengal Government must plead guilty to the 
charge. 



APPENDIX. 



139 



With regard to the revenue, that seems to 
me to be a question which has been considera- 
bly misunderstood; for, from the mode in which 
I have heard gentlemen express themselves 
with reference to that point, they appear to 
consider this revenue to be taken as a price 
for the permission of idolatry, and consequently 
they seem to think, that if the Government 
would consent to give up the revenue, the idola- 
try would of course cease. Surely nothing can 
he more erroneous than the above opinion ; for 
I suppose no one would venture to say, that 
the ruling power in Hindostan, whatever its re- 
ligion may be, should interfere to prevent the 
Hindoos from having access to their own tem- 
ples. If, then, you allow access to the temple 
at Jaghaftath, such access must be subjected to 
restraint and regulation ; and I know not a 
more powerful means of restraint and regula- 
tion than is afforded by the tax. I can speak 
from my own knowledge of the fact, that the 
imposition of the tax, so far from operating as 
an encouragement to persons to resort there, 
has had a direet contrary tendency ; for dur~ 
ing the time that access was allowed without 
the tax, the throng of people at the place was 
so great, and ssich a considerable number of the 
poorer classes took that opportunity of visiting 
the temple, that I was informed that several 
persons perished from actual want of subsis- 
tence. The scenes on the road \i jre, I an; 
told, truly shocking ; but since Lie tax has 
been continued, the numbers of the pilgrims 9 
particularly of the lower classes, have consi- 
derably diminished. I have passed several 



APPENDIX. 



times backwards and forwards between Cattach 
and Jaghanath (and that too, just previous to 
the Ruth Jattrah, or festival of the Charist) 
without seeing many objects of wretchedness, 
I certainly have seen two or three poor wretch- 
ed objects, exhausted by their long journey, and 
almost starving. But this is no very great 
matter of surprise, when it is recollected that 
the pilgrims come from all parts of Hindostan, 
from upwards of 1,600 miles distance 5 and 
that a large proportion of these consist of the 
old and infirm, who come for the express pur- 
pose of laying their bones within the precincts 
of the city. It seems to me that the question 
of revenue lies within a very small compass. 
If it be thought that it is inconsistent with our 
religion to permit the Hindoos to resort to their 
temples, the tax in that case is obviously im- 
proper 5 but if it be the duty of our Govern- 
ment to allow its native subjects to worship ac- 
cording to their own ideas, I should regret to 
see the tax abolished, as the abolition of it 
would reader it difficult to restrain and regu- 
late the numerous bodies of pilgrims who re- 
sort to the place ; and it would, in all probabil- 
ity, be the cause of the revival of those horrid 
scenes of distress which were before experienc- 
ed, when the tax was discontinued, and of which 
the traces are still to be met with in the nume- 
rous human bones on the road, I have heard 
it observed, that the tax in question is some- 
thing similar to a tax upon gambling, houses, or 
other houses of ill lame: but surely there is a 
most essential difference between the two cases. 
The objection to the former I understand tp be 



APPENDIX. 



141 



this— that the taxation amounts virtually to a 
licence of that which is, in its nature, immor- 
al; but in this case, I do not understand there 
is any question whether the Govern men L is to 
allow its subjects access to their own temples ; 
Government must admit the access, whether it 
takes a tax or not. Under that circumstance, 
therefore, I cannot see what possible objection 
there is to the continuance of an established 
tax of this nature, particularly when it is tak- 
en into consideration what large pensions in 
land and money are allowed by our Government 
in all parts of the country, for keeping up the 
religious institutions both of the Hindoos and 
the Musselmans. 

In respect to the atrocities said to he prae- 
tised at the place, they refer to the immola- 
tions under the wheels of the car on which the 
idol is carried. That such things occur, there 
can be no doubt; hut certainly not to the ex- 
tent, nor exactly from the same motive, as 
seems to be supposed by many in England. It 
would appear to be a prevailing opinion, that 
these immolations are of frequent occurrence ; 
that they are a duty prescribed to the Hindoos 
by (heir religion ; and, consequently, that such 
duty is often carried into performance. Wheth- 
er it be a duty or not, I cannot positively say ; 
but I believe it to be no part of their religion, 
and that, in point of fact, it is no more a duty 
prescribed to the Hindoos, than it was a duty 
prescribed to the Christian Ascetics to live in 
the austere and curious modes in which many 
of them formerly did, in the early ages of 
Christianity. Indeedj the infrequency of the 



APPENDIX. 



act is the fullest proof, I conceive, that it i» 
not an act of duty prescribed to any sect of 
Hindoos whatever. I was at Jaghanath dur* 
ing the whole of the ^uth Jattrah (in 1809 I 
think it was,) ancf I heard but of one instance 
of an immolation under the wheels of the car* 
I should not suppose it possible that another 
instance cpuld have happened during that fes- 
tival, without my hearing of it. But suppos- 
ing, instead of one, there were ten times the 
liumber, what would it amount to ?— that out of 
a population of nearly two hundred millions, 
(for I suppose the whole of the Hindoo popula- 
tion, as far as Cabul, to be not much short of 
two hundred millions,) there are to be foun$ 
ten fanatics, fools and madmen enough to com- 
lii it such an act at Jaghanath. 

There is another matter to be mentioned, 
but of which I was totally ignorant till very 
lately, w hen it was particularly painted out to 
yne, in order that I might say whether it were 
correct or otherwise. 1 aliude to the circum- 
stances of the indecency said to be exhibited 
on the car of the idol. On that point my. at- 
tention was directed to a publication by the 
Rev, Dr. Claudius Buchanan, who speaks of a 
priest having pronounced certain obscene 
stanzas in the ears of the people, and of cer- 
tain indecent gestures exhibited by a boy and 
priest on the car. With respect to the songs, 
how the author eame to know what the priest 
was repeating, he does not state. 1 do not mean 
to doubt; the"fact; but I do think, if the pro- 
fession was any thing at all like that which I 
saw, there is no room to suppose that the ai^ 



APPENDIX. 



148 



thorns ears, even if he did understand the lan- 
guage, could have been shocked by his actually 
hearing the songs. To give some idea of the 
tiling to gentlemen in England, I would beg 
them to represent to themselves the ear in pro- 
gress between Charing Cross and Parliament 
Street, the whble of the way as crowded as pos- 
sible with people, clapping their hands, talking, 
shouting, arid merry-making ; and can it be 
conceived, that in such a noise a person could 
have his ears shocked by hearing what the 
priest was repeating, when, owing to the diss 
tanee of the platform oil which he stands, one 
oould not by any endeavours get within ten 
yards of him. I am sure I could not hear any 
ihing which was said ; and during the whole of 
the time I was present, the noise was incessant, 
without intermission; and according to the na- 
ture of things I conceive it must be so, in a 
crowd of about one hundred thousand. Upon 
this point, however, if I can rely upon the in- 
formation I have received, the songs in question- 
are denominated by the natives Cubbee, a spe- 
cies of song not very unlike that which is ad- 
mitted into our own sacred writings. Ours, I 
imagine, are not at present read in any part 
of our service ; but whoever knows an^ thing 
of the Hindoos, must be aware that their ve- 
neration for antiquity will not adlovv them to 
depart from any thing which has once form- 
ed a part of their ceremonies. With respect 
to the indecent gestures said to have been ex- 
hibited on the car, all I can say is, that if suck 
things are done ? I never saw them, and what 
is imvre, \ never heard of 1hem till 1 came to 




144 



APPENDIX. 



England. To give you an irrefragable proof 
of what I have asserted relative to my igno- 
ranee, and to the ignorance of the other gentlemen 
on the spot, of any thing of the nature alleged 
ever happening, I need only mention that I be-* 
lieve there was not a single lady at the station 
who did not accompany her husband to see the 
procession. Had we had the slightest surmise 
of that which is asserted to be a fact, most un- 
questionably those ladies would not have been 
there. But 1 do most solemnly declare, that I 
never did hear the most distant hint of any 
thing indecent having been seen, or of any thing 
iii the slightest degree resembling indecency. 
With regard to the temple, there certainly are 
indecent figures on it, but certainly not more 
than what we see every day in representations 
of ancient sculpture. Indeed they are so badly 
done, that I do declare, that if they had not 
been pointed out to me, I should never have 
known that they were there. 

It has been suggested, that I should say 
something more about the charge which has 
been made 'against our Government, for not 
interfering to put a stop to the immolations. 
If I had been asked before Mr. Graham gave 
his evidence before the House of Commons, I 
should have said, that I did not know that the 
Government had interfered at all. 1 never 
heard of it ; and as it appears to me so utterly 
impossible for the Government to interfere with 
effect, I should have supposed they never had 
attempted it. I have said before, that I under- 
stand that it is no part of a duty prescribed to 
any sect of Hindoos, to devote themselves under 



APPENDIX. 



the wheels of the ear. I believe, from every 
thing I have heard, that the Brahmins have no 
concern at all in encouraging the fanatic to 
destroy himself ; and that, in paint of fact, 
they are as ignorant of any one's having the 
intention of devoting himself as we are here 
I never heard that there are any previous ablu- 
tions or purifications, which are usual when 
the priests interfere on siieh momentous occa- 
sions, How then can the Government inter- 
fere ? The man, I believe, does not communis 
cate his intention : and I think it not at all un- 
likely that he himself does not intend it, till a 
little before he throws hiniself under the wheels, 
As for preventing it at the spot, it is utterly 
impossible. In such a crowd no one knows 
w hat his next neighbour is about. In short, it 
appears to me, that people may with as muck 
justice censure our Government at home, for 
not preventing suicide in the variety of ways 
in whieh we are informed it is practised, as 
they may the Government abroad, for not pre-' 
venting the immolations in question. 
I have the honour to be, &c. 

(Signed) C. BULLER, 

Lofidon, 19th May, ioiJ. 




* TJie Forcrmmer of the Roll/ BifiU ;" tying a 
—translation of a— Tract in the Bengalee 

I. anojuage* printed by the Missiwiarie$ ; watch 
the Bengal Government transmitted to thv 



APPENDIX. 



Court of Directors f marked B, J as being, in 
their judgment, calculated to inflame the pre- 
judices of the Hindoos. ( Extracted from 
the East-India Papers, printed by order of 
the Mouse of Commons, JYo. -±4*2, pp. 65, 66. J 

HEAR, O worldly men I Iiear with an at- 
tentive mind, how you may obtain salvation 
from terrible hell. None of you seek for that ^ 
your thoughts are constantly employed about 
money, about all these trifles, and this world : 
every one of you is incessantly contemplating 
this world. All these things will be necessary 
but for a short time : after death you will by 
no means have property. Know all of you, 
that on being born you must die, and that after 
death you must either go to heaven or to hell : 
and without remission of sins you cannot go to 
heaven ; with downcast countenance you will 
he cast into awful hell. What is hell like, or 
what sort the torments in it ? Be informed : no 
one of you thinks of making himself acquainted 
with that. Insufferable heli is filled with ever- 
lasting fire, whieh will never be extinguished* 
On falling therein,, brethren, there is no further 
preservation : the end of eternity is a begin- 
ning to it. Ye are afraid, but afterwards fall 
into this awful helL B eware, beware of this 
inextinguishable fire : make Christ your asylum ; 
take an asylum ; for without that, no one of 
you will obtain salvation. Both Hindoos and 
Mussulmans have many sasters, the object 
whereof we have strictly examined, and there 
m no work of true redemption among them ; 
they are sasters for the amusement of daldren s 
they are like tales. 



APPENDIX. 



In (lie Hindoo sasters there is an account of 
ten incarnations. Let me plainly state them, 
and listen. In the first place, there was N ar- 
ray^ in the form of a fish, for the protection of 
Sateebroto. 

The second was a tortoise, for the support 
of the earth ; the third a boar, to lift it up : the 
fourth was the man lion, to destroy the demons: 
in the fifth, the dwarf took Bali io hell 5 in the 
sixth, Parrusram destroyed the Khitrees ; in 
the seventh, Ramchunder killed Kabon ; in the 
eighth, Christna killed Cangra; and in the 
ninth, Buddha manifested the Buddhites. A id 
if the story of the nine incarnations be true, 
still there is no redeemer. What will you do ? 
how will yon be redeemed from sin ? — But we 
will point out a remedy. 

We formerly had a similar sastra ; but when 
we obtained the Great Sastra, we renounced 
that. Allow us to give you some information 
concerning it. If you be desirous of a remedy, 
attend and hear. 

At that time, when the Almighty had finish- 
ed the creation, he gave a mighty order to all 
men. He gave an account of heaven and hell. 
He pointed out. the distinction between right 
and wrong. " Hear all of you my infallible or- 
der. What I say, I will do: that is certain. 
If any be pure and practise holiness, I will give 
them matchless glory in heaven 5 but if any one 
sin, I will certainly cast him into eternal iire. ?? 

Tliis is the primary order of God ; after 
which mankind became wicked, and God knew 
it, but there was no redemption, and he ordered 
that sonfe remedy should be provided. Through 
las mercy there was a provision for the re- 



APPENDIX. 



flemption of dinners. If any person should as* 
sume birth on earth, and take upon himself the 
torment of sinners,, those sinners who sincerely 
believe in him should he redeemed: and there 
was an incarnation of Jesus, the protector of 
the unprotected, full of the splendour of God, 
having been separated from his body in a column 
of splendour before him. He said, " I will 
take birth on earth, and suffer all the torment 
pf sins on my body. Whatever sinners take 
refuge under my protection, you will grant them 
salvation. 5 ' God said, "Yes, this is my pro- 
ynise, I will redeem them. Mortals are under 
thy protection." After which, the Lord was 
conceived in the country of Judea, according to 
prophecy, in the womb of a woman. During 
his life on earth, he took the name of Jesus 
jChrist, and he performed many miracles in-va-? 
rious places. The blind received sight; the 
dead life. He did many such miracles, he was 
so great. And he fulfilled the sayings of the 
Prophets, and was killed by the hands of the 
people of his own nation, and gave up his life 
under various kinds of torment ; and after three 
days he arose again : and because he suffered 
torment in his body for sins, therefore he was 
denominated Saviour of Sinners. 

Christ did not die like people in general : 
he suffered much torment, and died *miracu ?l 
|ously ? 

When he took upon himself to suffer for us, 
his torment was intolerable. Amidst these 
sufferings, he called out and said, " O God ! 
why hast thou forsaken me, and left me in the 
hands of sinners And they spit upon him, 
vexed h\w and mocked him, and put a crown of 



APPENDIX. 



149 



thorns upon his head, and fixed his feet and 
hands upon a cross with nails ; and when they 
had inflicted severe punishment upon him, they 
killed him. They pierced his breast with nails, 
and exhausted him ; and when he shed his 
blood, they caused him to drink vinegar mixed 
with galls ; and having tormented him in this 
manner, they killed him. They fastened two 
thieves, one on his right hand and one on his 
left 5 and when they had disgraced him in this 
manner, they killed him. In tSiis manner died 
the Saviour of the World. On his own body 
he suffered the torment of sinners ; and it was 
requisite for him to do so : without that, Grm 
would not have redeemed mankind. He paid 
the ransom of all sinners ; and according to the 
security which he gave, so it came to pass. 
His death was the preservation of our life : his 
sufferings were the source of joy to the whole of 
us. The sufferings of Jesus Christ atoned to 
God for the torment of eternal hell fire. God 
accepted of all that, and the tilth of Jesus 
Christ, for the sake of sinners. He accepted 
of the death of Jesus Christ, in exchange for 
the eternal death of sinners. As righteousness 
was the garment of Jesus Christ, so let us make 
faith in him our vesture. We go before God 
after death. Can you go in the presence of 
God ? You cannot go before God by taking the 
name of Ram Chrishn Sheeb, or any other 
deity, seeing all those sinners was an abomina- 
tion to the Lord. They will suffer eternal tor- 
ment in awful hell ; but it is a great consola- 
tion to his mind to hear of the works and nai..a 
of Christ 



APPENDIX, 



Christ is now with God, for the redemption 
pf sinners who worship him. Those who die 
worshippers of him on earth, he cheerfully 
takes to the mansion of Heaven. Hear, hear, 
O people ! hear my words. A copious work 
on this subject, named the Gospel, was first in 
the Hebrew and Greek : from these, the English 
siiade a translation of it ; but not they alone ; 
-various other nations made a translation of this 
great and principal Sastra. The French, 
JJuteh, Germans, Danes, Armenians, and va- 
rious others, copied it. It went to America 
$nd Africa, and all other countries, and to all 
the principal islands. This holy book went to 
all these countries, and even in Malabar it was 
translated into Himlee. Whoever 'obtained this 
lioly book renounced all previous sastras, and 
espoused it. It has now been translated into 
tfie Bengally language, and printed. Any one 
who wishes to hear this work, may come to 
Serampore, and we will read it to him. 

Printed at Serampore, 1806— 1213. 
(A true Copy.) 

(Signed) «7V*. B> Edmonstone, 

Secretary to Government, 



No. VII. 

Memorial, addressed by the Baptist Missiona- 
ries to the Might Honourable Gilbert Lord 
Minto, Governor General of India* praying 
that the Bengal Government would spare their 
Mission. Bated Misssion-House, Serampore, 



APPENDIX. 



151 



Both September, 1807. ( Extracted f rom the 
East-India Papers, printed by order of the 
House of Commons, No. 142. pp. 56 — 61. ) 

TO THE RIGHT HON. GILBERT LORD MINTO, 
GOV. GENERAL OF INDIA, &c. &c, &c. 

My Lord, 

1. THE Society of Missionaries residing at 
Serainpore entreat permission to lay before 
your Lordship, with the greatest submission* a 
full and undisguised statement of their situa- 
tion, circumstances, and views ; humbly easting 
themselves on your Lordship's clemency, and 
imploring such relief as your Lordship's can- 
dour, and wisdom, and attachment to the Protes- 
tant Religion may suggest. 

2. Your Lordship's Memorialists beg per- 
mission humbly to represent, that in the year 
1792 a number of ministers and others of the 
Baptist Denomination, reflecting on the bles- 
sings they enjoyed through the Christian Reve- 
lation, and feeling it their indispensable duty 
to attempt imparting the same to the heathen, 
formed themselves into a voluntary society, by 
the name of the Baptist Missionary Society; 
and that your Lordship's Memorialists, in- 
fluenced by the same views, by the advice of 
this society, engaged in a mission to India. 

3. They entreat permission further to state, 
that one of your Lordship's Memorialists and 
his friend, since dead, landed at Calcutta in the 
year 1793 ; who being soon after entrusted, by 
a gentleman high in the service^ with the care 
of two indigo works in the district of Binage- 
pore, began to learn the Bengalee language. 



i§2 



APPENDIX. 



translate (lie Scriptures, and dispense Christian 
instruction to the natives of that and the neigh- 
bouring districts : and although this was con- 
tinued for six years, nothing appeared on the 
part of the natives but the highest satisfaction. 

4. That the Eight Honourable Lord Teign- 
mouth, being then Governor General of India, 
was pleased to grant these two Missionaries 
the covenants of that time granted to British 
subjects in India. 

5. They entreat permission further humbly 
to represent, that in the year 1799, four other 
Missionaries arriving at Serampore were in- 
vited by his Excellency Colonel Bie, late Gover- 
nor of Serampore, to settle in that colony, open 
.an European school, set up their printing press, 
and instruct the natives of that settlement in 
Christianity, under the patronage of his Danish 
Majesty: and that your Lordship's Memo- 
rialists felt it their duty to accept his Excel- 
lency's invitation. 

6. That in consequence of a representation 
made by his Excellency Colonel Bie, his Danish 
Majesty was pleased to direct the Royal Col- 
lege of Commerce at Copenhagen, to signify his 
pleasure to the Governor of Serampore, that 
.ike Society of Missionaries be considered as 
under his Majesty's protection and patronage, 
which they accordingly signified by a letter 
bearing date September 5th, 1801. 

7. That, thus encouraged by the Danish 
Government, your Lordship's Memorialists pro- 
ceeded to print the Scriptures in the Bengalee 
language; and, by preaching and diffusing re- 
ligious tracts, to instruct the native inhabitants 
ef that settlement in the Christian religion %■ 



APPENDIX. 



1.53 



And. that Lis Excellency the late Colonel Hie 
was pleased, at the baptism of the first Hindoo 
convert, to honour the Missionaries with his 
presence. 

8. That, after the Scriptures were published, 
many came to Serampore from different parts 
of the country to request copies, and to seek 
Christian instruction ; and that a considerable 
number, at different times, have received Chris- 
tian baptism. 

9. That of those who thus carne from a dis- 
tance, some entreated your Lordship's Memo- 
rialists to accompany them to their respective 
homes, for the sake of instructing their neigh- 
hours and friends, who, though equally desirous 
of Christian instruction, were unable to take 
so long a journey : that in several instances 
they complied with these invitations, and in- 
variably found these excursions attended with 
perfect quietness as well as safety to their own 
persons, although they appeared simply as 
Christian teachers ; and the people whom they 
thus visited were in several instances Ma- 
homedans. 

10. Your Lordship's Memorialists entreat 
permission farther to represent, that on occa- 
sion of the printing presses at Calcutta being 
placed under the controul of Government, the 
Most Noble the Marquis Wellesley was pleas- 
ed to inquire respecting the press at Seram- 
pore ; but on being informed that (official pa- 
pers for the Danish Government excepted) the 
Missionaries confined its operations to printing 
the Scriptures and religious tracts, and made 
it an invariable rule to print nothing of a po- 
litical nature* his Lordship was pleased to ex-? 



APPENDIX. 



press his satisfaction at the press of Serampore 
being thus employed. 

11. That his Lordship was pleased soon 
•after to accept a copy of the New Testament, 
translated by the Missionaries into the Benga- 
lee language, and to express his approbation of 
the undertaking. 

±2. That, in 1801, his Lordship was pleased, 
to appoint one of your Lordship 9 s Memorialists 
teacher of the Bengalee and Sangskrit lan- 
guages in the College of Fort William. 

13. That his Lordship was pleased soon 
after to direct the Missionaries to prepare and 
print the Psalms of David, and the Book of 
Isaiah, as a class-book in the Bengalee lan- 
guage, for the use of the College. 

14. Tjhat on a subsequent occasion, his Lord- 
ship was pleased to assure one of your Lord- 
ship's Me mo rial its, that he was perfectly ac- 
quainted with all the concerns and operations 
of the Missionaries at Serampore, and felt 
great satisfaction at their affairs being attended 
with such a degree of success. 

15. They, entreat permission also to repre- 
sent, that in the year 1803 a copy of the New 
Testament, and the Pentateuch, in the Benga- 
lee language, were presented to his Majesty by 
II. Bowyer, Esq. of Pall Mall ; and that his 
Majesty was pleased graciously to accept them, 
and to direct that his Majesty's thanks be given 
to the Baptist Missionary Society. 

16. They humbly beg leave further to repre- 
sent, that early in the year 1S0&, reflecting on 
the situation of the different countries around, 
as destitute' of the Holy Scriptures, your Lord- 
ship's Memorialists felt it their duty to request 



APPENDIX, 



±0Q 



the assistance of the public in Europe, in the 
work of translating and publishing the Scrip- 
tures in the languages of India* 

17. That in the year 1303, a letter was re- 
ceived from the British and Foreign Bible So- 
ciety, of which the Right Honourable Lord 
Teignmoutb is President, and the Bishops of 
London, Durham, Exeter, and St. DavicPs, the 
Right Honourable Lord Radstock, Admiral 
Gambier, Sir W. Pepperell, William Wiiber- 
force, and Charles Grant. Esq. Vice Presidents ; 
the following* extract from which, they humbly 
entreat permission to submit to your Lordship. 

London, July 23, ISO!. 
" Resolved,— That George Udny, Esq. the 
Reverend David Brown, the Rev erend Claudius 
Buchanan, and Messrs. Cary, Ward, and 
Marshman, be requested to form a Committee, 
and to correspond with the Society respecting 
the best means of promoting the object of this 
Institution, with regard to the Eastern Lan- 
guage*.' 5 

(Signed) John Owen, Secretary. 

18. That in the year 1806, your Lordship's 
Memorialists published a Memoir, in India, 
relative to the translations of the Scriptures, 
of which copies were transmitted to the Honour- 
able the Court of Directors, the Right Honour- 
able the President of the British and Foreign 
Bible Society, the Right Reverend the Bishops, 
the Universities in Britain, and a number of 
public bodies and private gentlemen, 

19. That in consequence of this Memoir, a 
considerable sum was subscribed by gentlemen 
at this Presidency to carry forward the work $ 



100 



APPENDIX 



and that subscriptions have been received mi 
the same account from England and Scotland? 
and also from the United States of America. 

20. Tims have your Lordship's Memori- 
alists, humbly relying on your Lordship's 
clemency, laid open, in the most unreserved 
manner, the whole of their circumstances. 
Conscious of no evil design, they have never 
attempted concealment, but have year by year 
laid the whole of their conduct before the pub- 
lic, both in Britain and India. And they en- 
treat permission further humbly to state, that 
in the course of their missionary labours, they 
have baptized upwards of a hundred natives, 
including Hindoos and Mussulmans of these, 
the first ten were inhabitants of Serampore, 
and the rest such as came' from different parts 
of the country seeking Christian instruction. 
Among these, twelve were Brahmins, sixteen 
of the Writer east, and five Mussulmans. Your 
Lordship's Memorialists entreat permission to 
add, that neither the baptism of the Brahjnins 
nor Mussulmans created any kind of alarm, al- 
though the circumstances attending, them: were 
perfectly well known to a great distance' 
around. 

21. Your Lordship's Memorialists humbly' 
entreat permission further to represent, that in 
thus affording Christian instruction to natives, 
they were perfectly unconscious of acting con- 
trary to the declared will of the British Nation 
and Legislature, or to the existing regulations 
of the Honourable Company. Conscious of 
the salutary effects of renovating the mind and 
regulating the passions, they wished to impart 
the blessing to t'leir Hindoo fellow-subjects 



APPENDIX, 



ftappv iii the idea that in every real convert 
they were securing to tSieir country a friend, a 
subject obeying from new principles, and cor- 
dially attached to the British Nation by new 
and inviolable ties. 

22. They entreat permission further to re- 
present, that, though perfectly acquainted with, 
and highly revering, the principles which in- 
duced the British Legislature to guarantee to 
their Indian Subjects the full and undisturbed 
possession of their different religious opinion*, 
your Lordship's Memorialists were perfectly 
unconscious of violating those principles, inas- 
much as the most solemn engagements of this 
nature in Britain are never supposed to pre- 
clude religious discussion ; and from the liberal 
and generous nature of the Protestant religion, 
they were led to imagine that a Protestant na- 
tion, while utterly averse to coercion, could not 
but wish their Hindoo subjects might, in some 
prudent and safe method, receive Christian in- 
struction. 

23. They humbly entreat permission further 
to state, that this supposition was strengthened 
by perusing in RusselPs Collection of Statutes 
concerning the Incorporation, Trade, and Com- 
merce of the East-India Company, printed at 
London in 17S6, and dedicated to the Right 
Honourable Henry Dimdas, an abridgment of 
the Charters of Incorporation granted to the 
several East-Midia Companies ; which abridg- 
ment, among others, contains an abstract of the 
Chart* r granted to the Honourable Company 
by his Majesty King William the Third, and 
bearing date September 5th. 1G9S ; hv which, it 

14 



158 



APPENDIX. 



is stipulated, page 20. of the abridgment, that 
" the ministers of the Honourable Company 
are to learn the Portuguese and Hindoo lan- 
guages, to enable them to instruct the Gentoos, 
See. in the Christian religion, &c." 

24). Your Lordship's Memorialists humbly 
acknowledge to .your Lordship, that the con- 
duct of other Protestant nations towards their 
Indian subjects, has also tended to confirm them 
in this supposition, particularly that of the 
United States of Holland, who, while they al- 
lowed their Cingalese, Malabar, and Malay 
subjects, the free exercise of their different re- 
ligions, at the public expense translated the sa- 
cred Scriptures into the former and latter of 
these languages, and employed Missionaries 
and Catechists to instruct the natives in the 
Christian religion ; from which conduct your 
Lordship's Memorialists have never heard that 
in one single instance any alarm or disturbance 
arose, but that, on the contrary, these convert- 
ed natives were often of the highest political 
service to their respective governments. 

25. That the conduct of his Danish Majes- 
ty, Frederick the Fourth, who in 1705, at his 
own expense, sent Messrs. Ziegenbalg and 
Grimdler to found the Protestant Mission at 
Tranqueb&r, tended still more to confirm their 
minds in this idea, particularly when connect- 
ed with the subsequent conduct of the British 
Nation towards that Mission': for your Lord- 
ship's Memorialists entreat permission to re* 
present, that on the return of the Missionary 
Ziegenbalg to Europe, nine years after the com- 
mencement of the Mission, he was invited to a 
sitting of (rite Bishops and others, in the Socie- 



APPENDIX. 



139 



tj far promoting Christian Knowledge ; and 
that, after his return to India, he was- present- 
ed with a printer's press, to encourage him in 
the publication of the sacred Scriptures ; that 
this press the Missionaries set up at Tranque- 
bar, where it stiil remains employed for mis- 
sionary purposes, under the patronage of his 
Danish Majesty. 

26. That the gracious condescension of his 
Majesty George the First by no means tends to 
weaken these ideas : for, in addition to the en- 
couragement afforded these Missionaries by his 
subjects, his Majesty was pleased to write them 
two letters ; in the first of which, bearing date 
August 23d, 1717, his Majesty was pleased to 
express his satisfaction at the success of their 
labours, and to assure them of the continuance 
of his royal favour ; and in the second, dated 
February 23d, 1727, twenty-two years after the 
mission had been founded (a period in which 
the dissemination of the Scriptures and the 
baptism of a multitude of the natives had fully 
developed its nature and tendency,) his Majes- 
ty was pleased to express his satisfaction in 
terms still stronger, to assure them that a con- 
stant account of the progress of their mission 
would be acceptable, and to " pray that they 
might be assisted in this good work, that its 
perpetuity might not fail in generations to 
come." 

27. Your Lordship's Memorialists humbly 
entreat permission further to represent, that the 
conduct of the Honourable Company towards 
the Missionary Swartz, lately deceased, has 
tended to convince them, that in attempting to 
ajford Christian instruction to the Hindoos, 



180 



APPENDIX. 



they were not acting contrary to the will of the 
Honourable Company. In continuation of this 
idea, they entreat permission to refer to the ce- 
notaph which the Honourable Company has 
been pleased to erect at Madras to the memory 
of this Missionary, directing that the inscrip- 
tion be translated into the different languages 
of the country, that the natives may understand 
the sense they entertain of his transcendant 
merit in " abstracting himself from temporal 
views, ami for a period of fifty years going 
about doing good,'' in the character of a Chris* 
jtian Missionary. 

28. Your Lordship's Memorialists most hum- 
bly entreat permission to appeal to your Lord- 
ship, whether their circumstances and employ- 
ment, in translating the Scriptures and quietly 
dispensing Christian instruction, be not similar 
to those of Ziegenbalg and Swartz. 

They acknowledge {hat their efforts bear no 
proportion to the labours of these excellent 
men, hut entreat permission humbly to repre- 
sent, that their motives and the nature of their 
labours are exactly the same. 

29, They also entreat permission further to 
represent, that from the peculiarly delicate cir- 
cumstances in which the efforts of the Mission- 
ary Swartz were made, among natives whose 
bigotry greatly exceeds that of the natives of 
this Presidency, and in the neighbourhood of 
the most inveterate and formidable Mahometan 
power which has ever opposed the British na- 
tion, they were led to suppose that if in these 
circumstances, attempts to instruct natives in 
the Christian religion were not injurious to tho 
Public tranquillity; but rather meritorious, (he„ 



APPENDIX. 



161 



could not be of a different nature in this Pre- 
sidency, freed from every powerful Mahometan 
neighbour, and where the natives, divided into 
numerous sects, indulge in literary and religi- 
ous discussion to an almost unbounded degree. 

30. That all they have had an opportunity 
of observing relative to the natives, has con- 
vinced them of this being their true state and 
disposition. They have found that in numer- 
ous instances discussion has been desired by 
their native teachers, and approved by the mul- 
titude, even when it has ended to the disadvan- 
tage of their spiritual guides ; that Christian 
instruction has been sought both by Hindoos 
and Mussulmans ; that the prudent dissemina- 
tion of Christian instruction for thirteen years, 
the baptism of more than a hundred of the na- 
tives, and the circulation of several thousand 
copies of the Scriptures, has created no alarm, 
nor excited among them the least dissatisfac- 
tion, during the whole of this period. They 
entreat permission also to add, that one of your 
Lordship's Memorialists has been in the habit, 
for more than live years, of dispensing Chris- 
tian instruction, in Calcutta, to his servants, 
and such other natives who choose to attend, 
without observing the most distant appearance 
of discontent. 

31. Your Lordship's Memorialists humbly 
enU eat permission further to intrude upon your 
Lordship's clemency, and to represent, that 
about a year ago a number of Armenians and 
Protestant Portuguese, natives of Calcutta, 
stated to them that they wished for Chris tan 
instruction, but were too little acquainted with 

■ 14* 



162 



APPENDIX* 



the English language to receive it at the Eng- 
lish church : they therefore entreated your 
JLordship's Memorialists to afford it them in 
Bengalee, the only language in which they 
could receive it, one of them offering to fit up 
a part of his house for that purpose. Not im- 
agining that by thus affording instruction to 
Protestant natives, they were acting contrary 
to the will of Government, your Lordship's 
Memorialists felt it their duty to comply with 
this request. And it is with the deepest con- 
cern they learn that this has been mentioned to 
Government, as an attempt to inflame the minds 
of the natives, and disturb the public tranquil- 
lity. 

32. They humbly beg leave to represent, that 
hearing instruction in their own language, na- 
tives have occasionally listened without, but 
that not the leant appearance of dissatisfaction 
has been observed among those who have thus 
occasionally listened. 

33. Your JLordship's Memorialists humbly 
implore permission to represent, that it is with 
the deepest concern they understand apprehen- 
sions for the public tranquillity have been en- 
tertained from the productions of their press. 

34. They therefore humbly entreat permis- 
sion to lay before your Lordship a correct list 
of the pamphlets which have issued therefrom, 
with a brief view of their contents. 

1. " The Gospel. Messenger, 5 ' a short Ben- 
galee poem, written to announce the translation 
ofthe Scriptures. By a Hindoo Pundit, fav- 
ourable to Christianity as an object of discus- 
sion, but still professing Hhidootstn. 



APPENDIX. 



163 



2. « The Dawn of Wisdom. 5 ' By the same 
Pundit. Written to invite his countrymen to 
the investigation of Christianity. 

3. " News relative to the Salvation of Man." 
4*. " A Summary of Christian Doctrines." 
5. "The Words of Affection," a summary 

of Christianity, with an invitation to the Hin- 
doos to examine it. 

G. " An Address to the Worshippers of Jug- 
gernaut," — <4 pages. 

7. " The Difference," a comparison between 
Khrishna and Christ. A translation of this, 
and the 1st, i3th, and 6th Articles, have been 
published in England. 

8. w The Sure Refuge," " Salutary Conn* 
sel," and the "Enlightening Guide;" three 
short Pieces addressed to his Countrymen the 
Hindoos. By Petumber Sing, an aged native 
Christian. 

9. " An Address to Mussulmans ;" with an 
Appendix, containing some Account of Mah- 
omet. 

0.7. Your Lordship's Memorialists humbly 
entreat permission to represent, that these pam- 
phlets, with a few Catechisms (two of them 
Dr. Watts V) includes every thing they have 
printed in tSie native languages, except the 
Scriptures, a book of hymns, and the element- 
ary books printed for the College of Fort Wil- 
liam. The appendix in the 9th article is the 
pamphlet, a Persian translation of which was 
laid before your Lordship* This is the only 
one which your Lordship's Memorialists have 
at any time addressed to the Mussulmans* as 
they have generally found them less fond of dis- 
cussion than the Hindoos, They entreat per- 



1.6.4 



APPENDIX-. 



mission to add, that the Address was written 
and printed in England several years ago, and 
was selected by your Lordship's Memorialists, 
on account of its conciliatory tendency; that 
the Appendix was drawn up by your Lordship's 
Memorialists ahout three years ago, at the re- 
quest of a number of Mussulmans highly fond 
of religious discussion ; that none of those ep- 
ithets were used respecting Mahomet which 
appeared in the Persian translation, and that 
your Lordship's Memorialists never heard of 
any Mussulman being displeased by the perusal 
in the Bengalee of the original copy, although 
it has been read for nearly three years. They 
entreat permission, however, to represent, that 
on receiving the first information of your Lord- 
ship's pleasure, they withdrew it from circula- 
tion in every form. 

36. They entreat permission to assure your 
Lordship, that nothing can be farther from 
them, than an indifference to the public tran- 
quillity. Convinced as they are, by all the ob- 
servations they have been able to make, that 
the British Government is the greatest national 
blessing vouchsafed by Divine Providence to In- 
dia for many ages ; and that the safety of them- 
selves and their families, and of their native 
converts, depends in a peculiar manner on the 
permanent prosperity of the British Govern* 
ment; they entreat your Lordship to judge 
whether the dictates of Religion do not concur 
w ith those of the soundest reason, in urging 
them to promote, by every possible means, the 
peace, tranquillity, and prosperity of the Brit* 
ish Empire in India. 

3 Your Lordship's Memorialists humbly 



APPENDIX. 165 
• 

entreat permission further to represent, that 
they now ha*e in the press translations of the 
Scriptures in the Sangskrit, the Bengalee, the 
Kindee, the Orissa, the Mahratta, and the Guz- 
zeratter languages, which they have pledged 
themselves to the public in Britain, America, 
and in India, to print at a stipulated price, a 
price precluding any profit arising to them- 
selves from this work of public and gratuitous 
benevolence. 

38. That for the sake of executing these 
works, and others which they are printing at a 
stipulated price for the College of Fort Wil- 
liam and the Asiatic Society, and the accom- 
modation of those concerned in them, they have 
heen obliged to purchase and fit up premises at 
An expense of more than sixty thousand rupees; 
an expense involving them in debts which the 
most persevering industry and the most ri^id 
economy has not enabled them in seven years 
wholly to liquidate. They humbly entreat per- 
mission further to state, that these premises, if 
abandoned, could be let only for a small monthly 
rent, and would indeed be ineligible to any sin- 
gle family, or to persons in a different line of 
business 5 while premises equally spacious and 
convenient could not be obtained at Calcutta 
for the monthly rent of a thousand rupees. 

39. That in consequence of the difference in 
the price of house rent and other necessaries 
of life, naturally existing between the metrop- 
olis of India and a small country town, tli8 
wages of native workmen in the printing line 
at Calcutta are nearly double those given at 
Serampore. Such works, however, as your 
Lordship's ^Memorialists have engaged in, wjtb 



166 APPENDIX. 

a view to public sale, relating chiefly to Orien- 
tal Literature, are exceedingly limited and pre- 
carious in the sale, and will permit no addition 
being made to their price. 

40. That your Lordship's Memorialists, with 
their wives and children, forming a family of 
more than thirty Europeans, are by their mis- 
sionary circumstances laid under the necessity 
of adopting a degree of economy and frugality 
practicable only in a retired country situation 
as well as of training up their children (twen- 
ty in number) in the same course : they there- 
fore entreat permission to represent to your 
Lordship's consideration, that thSse circum- 
stances constrain them to contemplate a remo- 
val to Calcutta with the utmost dread, as in- 
volving the speedy and inevitable ruin of them- 
selves and their families. 

41. They beg leave therefore to cast them- 
selves on your Lordship's clemency, and with 
the utmost deference to submit their circum- 
stances to your Lordship's humanity and wis- 
dom, humbly imploring the great Author of the 
Christian Religion to pour down on your Lord- 
ship his choicest blessings, that your Lordship's 
Government, tranquil and happy to your Lord- 
ship, may be productive of the most beneficial 
and lasting effects to the millions confided to 
your Lordship's care ; and that at a very dis- 
tant period your Lordship may receive from 
His gracious hand a crown of glory that fadeth 
not away ! We have the honour to be. &c. 
(Signed) IF. Carey, Wm. Moore, 

Jo. Marshman, Josh. Howe, 
Wm. Ward, Felix Carey* 
Mi#eion B6m$ s Serampore, 30th Sept. 1807. 



APPENDIX. 



107 



No. V1IL 

NATURAL HISTORY CULTIVATED BY THE PRO- 
TESTANT MISSIONARIES IN INDIA. 

A VERY erroneous idea prevails in Eng- 
land respecting the general character and pur- 
suits of the Missionaries in India. The com- 
mon impression is, that they have no occupa- 
tion but that of preaching. The following ex- 
tracts from a late publication of the aged Mis- 
sionary, the Rev. Dr. John, will, it is hoped, 
tend to put the public mind right in this in- 
stance. Dr. John has been forty years in In- 
dia, being a member of the Mission at Trail - 
quebar, in the South ; and is now actively em- 
ployed in the benevolent work of organizing 
native schools, for the instruction of the Hin- 
doos and others in general useful knowledge. 
At these schools, it is optional for the children 
to learn Christian principles or not. 

" The Missionaries have not been negligent 
of Indian literature or natural history, but have 
communicated on these topics with the learned 
of past and present times. What Ziegenbalg, 
Walter, Widehrog, have done in the lirst half- 
century of the Mission, respecting Indian geo- 
graphy, history, and religion, ancient writings, 
&c. may be seen in Nieeamp's Extract of the 
Mission Accounts, which has been published in 
German and Latin. 

" When I arrived in India, I found in our 
Mission Library a whole press of ancient man- 
uscripts on palm leaves, concerning the Hindoo 
or Brahmin religion, or Yeuahs and Shasters. 
.Tad on medical science, of which there wa* 



168 



APPENDIX. 



collected a manuscript book under the title of 
Medicus Malabaricus, and Mythologia Mala- 
feariea, and many more relics of botanical ob- i 
servations, with other testimonies of the many 
labours and attentions of the older Missiona- 
ries in different sciences. But by the in- 
ciemeney of the climate, and the want of means 
to preserve and pay due attention to these lit- 
erary treasures, a great deal has been unhappi- 
ly lost. However, what was still legible has 
been copied, and made use of in later times. 

" Of the literary transactions in the present 
half century of the Mission, I will only men- 
tion with a grateful sense the merits of the late 
Dr. Koeing, who was a scholar of the great 
Linnaeus. My col league, the Rev. Dr. Rottler 9 
and myself, have profiled much by his indefa- 
tigable zeal in communicating his extensive 
knowledge of natural history, which he also 
shewed to many English gentlemen when he 
entered into the English service. 

" After him Dr. Martini, and, in later years. 
Dr. Klein, united us in this favourite scienee. 
Jn acknowledgment of our services, we were 
favoured by our philosophical friends with their 
latest works on all the branches of natural his- 
tory published by Chemnitz, Schreber, Esper, 
Herbot, Wildewow, Batsek and Russel, &c. 
To assist us in these pursuits, we found among 
the natives many an able youth, insomuch that 
I have succeeded in sending, during my stay in 
India, above an hundred boxes of curiosities 
collected in many countries and islands in the 
Indian seas, besides the many botanical speci- 
mens sent by the Rev, Dr. Rottler and ,£h\ 
Klein. 



APPENDIX. 



109 



6i In oh r mission garden is kept a nursery of 
the best and most useful fruit trees, native and 
foreign. This is open to Europeans and na- 
tives in our district when they wish for plants. 
If free schools shall be established and super- 
intended by intelligent school rectors from 
England and Germany, amongst these some 
will be acquainted with agriculture, grafting* 
and other particulars of gardening. Much of 
this can be applied to our Indian climate. 
Many barren or less cultivated lands can be 
improved, and many hilly or fiat districts filled 
with timber and fruit trees, or made to nourish 
small grains and bulbs, cotton, dying and medi- 
cal pla.nts, &c. I am sure that many European 
gentlemen who have or will lay out gardens 
will be very glad if they can procure European 
school inspectors, who may occasionally super- 
intend such gardens, and instruct the frequently 
stupid and ignorant native gardeners in the 
art of gardening. How much have I lamented 
on my travels through the country, especially 
after destructive inundations when I have pass- 
ed rivers, lakes, and tanks, that the banks on 
many places are so ill attended to, though their 
frequent failures might so easily be prevented 
by planting on them the most common shrubs. 
When, for instance, I travelled with the late 
Mr. Geticke through the hills and villages 
from Chingelput to St. Thome, we conversed 
together, and both felt much concern that these 
long tracts were so little and so insufficiently 
cultivated ; and I could not help expressing my 
wish that I might have them under my dis- 
posal and direction, if they were not so distant 
IB 



from Tranquebar. How many million^ of tfid 
most useful palmeira trees, and other timber 
and fruit trees, could be raised in the most bar- 
ren hilly districts, if the European inspectors 
of free schools were placed throughout the 
country ; who, in their visitations of the schools, 
might attend to these objects, and engage thg 
native schoolmasters with their pupils to assist 
in them at their leisure hours, and according 
to their capacities. I would, indeed, particu- 
larly advise that the poor children should by 
no means sit the whole day, bent over their 
books and palmeira leaves. If Dr. Bell and 
Mr. Lancaster's plans are gradually introduced, 
the youth will learn in one forenoon more thai* 
in an whole dav, if the old custom should be 
continued. In the afternoon, they can be em- 
ployed in some exercises of the body, in order 
to make them, from their earliest age, industri- 
ous, laborious, and active— fit for every useful 
business. Thus may also those European rec- 
tors of native schools, who have a knowledge 
of mechanics, or who hate been dyers, weav- 
ers, carpenters, instrument makers, and those 
who have worked in minerals, be of greai use 
in this country, and may make at least some of 
their pupils acquainted with their respective 
professions. 

The European gentlemen, judges, collec- 
tors, residents, and those in other stations in 
the Honourable Company's service, cannot at-* 
tend to or enter into the above-mentioned de- 
tails, if they are not assisted by intelligent 
men of a lower situation, who are contented 
with small salaries, but can render themselves of 
great use under their patronage 5 not only in 
attending to tfare schools, bi*t to secondary em- 



APPENDIX, 



fdoyments, such as those before named. My 
ate and living friends, Dr. Anderson, Dr. R»s^ 
sel, Dr. Boxburgh, and Dr. Benjamin Hejne^ 
would undoubtedly have had much greater suc- 
cess in their beneficial researches, if they had 
found such assistants as these in their pursuits.' 5 
— Rev. C. S. John on Indian Civiliz. p. 39 — 43. 

Dr. Carey and his fellow-labourers in the 
North of India have not been inattentive to na- 
tural history. Dr. Carey himself has studied 
it more particularly, and cultivates a small bo- 
tanical garden at Serampore. He has also at-, 
tended to statistical and agricultural subjects. 
See his paper # On the State of Agriculture in 
the District of Dinajpar;" inserted in xlsiatia 
Researches, vol. x. art. 1. 



No. IX. 

Report of the IMMOLATION of FEMALES, 

between Cossimbazar, in Bengal, and the Mouth of 
the Hqoghly, in the months of May and June, 1812. 
(Extracted from an Account of the Writing's, Religi- 
on, and Manners of the Hindoos, &c. by W. Ward, 
one of the Missionaries at Serampore.) 



rtoeet. 


Female's Name. 


■Age. 


Children 
left. 


Husband's Cast 


Kaleeka-poora 


- Hira - - - 


18 


1 


Brah?/m 


Ditto - - - 


- Radha - - 


22 


o 


Oilman 


pitto - - - 


- Swkhee - - 


S3 


2 


Blacksmith 


Ditto - - - 


- Sarwtee - - 


25 


2 


Brahmun 


Ditto . - - 


- Kaomaree - 


40 


4 


Carpenter 


Balooch-wra 


- Karmnee 


32 


o 
O 


Brahm?m 


Bamvmya 


- Rdjee - s 


25 


3 


Kaist'ha 


Ditto - - - 


- Roopee - - 


25 


2 


Brahman 


Shree-nwgwra 


- Bzmula - - 


31 


o 
O 


Carpenter 


Jwy?/-para 


- Kowsh?dya - 


45 


5 


Gardener 


Ditto - - - 


- Five women 




- 4 


Merchant 


Kashim-bazar 


- Soond?^ree - 


35 


3 


Goldsmith 


Ditto - - - 


- Dasee - ? 


34 


r» 
O 


Brasier 



APPENDIX. 



Places. 


Female's Name. 




Age. 


Children 


Husband's Cast, 


Calcutta - 


- 


Shyamee 




32 


2 


hnri7/n 

JLJI 1 C^i 1 i 11 14/1 I 


Ditto - - - 


- 


Tara - - 




19 


1 


G old s m i th 


Ditto - - - 


- 


Soondtjree 




31 


3 


Blacksmith 


Ditto - - - 


- 


Jeera 




25 


o 


Kivfirtt& 


Bi%a - - - 


- 


Ramrmmee 




27 


2 


Brahmwn 




- 


Untuna - 




16 


o 


Husbandman 


Ditto - - - 




Mi^nee - 




33 


3 


Oilman 


Ditto - - - 




Dasee 




25 


2 


Goldsmith 


Ditto - - - 




Bhws;«v7/tee' 


38 


4 


Rajpoot a 


Ditto - - - 




L-akshinee 


- 


60 


5 


Washerm an 


Ditto - - 




Shyamee 


- 


30 


3 


Gardener 


Ditto - - - 




Mwtee - 


- 


38 


4 


Oilman 


Man a-s inert] a poor aDanunee 


- 


40 


3 


Kaist'ha 


Ditto r - - 




Piidma - 


- 


33 


2 


Ditto 


Ditto - - - 


- 


Lzdeeta - 


- 


45 


6 


Ditto 


Ditto - r - 


- 


Somee - 


- 


30 


3 


Carpenter 


Burdhman 


- 


Koomaree 


- 


23 




Rajjptfota 


Ditto - - - 


- 


Drop?^dee 


- 


31 


3 


Carpenter 


Ditto - - - 


- 


Tripoora 


- 


38 


4 


Blackmith 




- 


Dwya 


- 


35 


4 


Ditto 


Brahrm/n-poorfl 


- 


Nwyanee 


- 


2t 


o 


Weaver 


N?/ya -serai 


- 


Sidhoo 


- 


25 


o, 


Potter 


Inkoo-seras 


- 


RuiTiunee 


- 


19 


1 


Brahmwn 


Ditto - - - 




Swkhee - 


- 


32 


3 


Ditto 


Ditto - - - 




Shomee - 


- 


30 


3 


Barber 


Shree-m/gwra 
Bam -p oo va 




Yimuhi - 


- 


31 




Carpenter 




Shyamee 


- 




o 


BrahmTm 


Amir-poora 




K/itiee 




16 


1 


Ba^dee 


G6ps\-miguva 




Sona - - 




39 


3 


Kiv?/rtta 


Man/k-p oova - 




Bh?Avanee 




29 




Ditto 


Ditto - - - 




Bhabinee 




38 


2 


Gardener 


Ditto - - - 








19 


1 


Oilman 


Ditto - - - 




Ylskkr.a 




40 


4 


Weaver 


Tareshwwa - 




Shyamee 




37 


4 


Brahrmm 


Ichzmiguvya - 




Pr£ya 




17 


1 


Ditto 


Ditto ' - - - 




Chztra 




55 


4 


Ditto 


Ditto - <■ - 




Kab'ndce 




25 


2 


O i 1 m an 


KaU/iya ' - - 








33 


4 


Barber 


TeL r h«nya 




Soondaree 




38 


3 


Kivwrtta 


Ditto - - - 




SWshee - 




33 


3 


Barber 


Ditto' - - - 




iNwj'anee 




25 


3 


Brahrmm* 


Chuniikuli 




12 women 






30 


K. Brahm?m 



APPENDIX, 



173 



This last mentioned Brahnmn had married 
twenty "five women, thirteen of whom died dur- 
ing his life-time ; the remaining twelve perish- 
ed with him on the funeral pile 9 leaving thirty 
children to deplore the fatal effects of this hor- 
rid system. 

Some years ago, a KooleenaBrahm?oi,of con- 
siderable property, died at Sookachzfra, three 
miles east of Serampore. He had married more 
than forty women, all of whom died before him 
excepting eighteen. On this occasion, a fire, 
extending ten or twelve yards in length, was 
prepared, into which the remaining eighteen 
threw themselves, leaving more than forty 
children, many of whom are still living. 



No. X. 

TESTIMONY of the Hon. the East-India 
Company to the Character of Mr. Swarfz.* 

(Extracted from a Preface to a Funeral Sermon, preach- 
ed in St. Mary's Church, Fort St. George, by order 
of the Hon. Court of Directors, on the opening 1 of Mr. 
Swart z\s Monument set up in that Church. By R. H, 
Kerr, D. D. Senior Chaplain of Fort St. George.) 

PUBLIC DEPARTMENT. 
To Rev. Br. Kerr, Sen. Chap. atFort. St. George. 

REVEREND SIR, 

I am directed by the Rt. Hon. the Governor 
in Council to enclose, for your information and 

* Suppresssd by the Bengal Government 
-15* 



174 



APPENDIX. 



guidance, the Extract of a late Letter from the 
Hon. the Court of Directors, and to inform yon 
of the wish of his Lordship in Council, that early 
measures may be taken for erecting in St. Mary's 
Church the monument which has been transmit- 
ted to this place by the Hon. Court, as a tribute of 
respect to the memory of the lateRevMr.Svvartz, 
2.* His Lordship in Council directs me also 
to express his confidence that your endeavour 
will be exerted to give every practicable effect to 
the farther suggestions of the Hon. Court, with 
regard to the best means of conveying an ade- 
quate impression of the exalted worth of that 
revered character, and his Lordship will be 
prepared to give every facility to the measures 
which you may propose on this subject. 
I have the honour to be, &c. 

G. BUCHAN, Chief Sec. 
Fort St. George, 10th June, 1807. 



Extract of a* General Letter from England, 
the Public Department, dated Oct. 29, 1800. 

3. By our extra ship the Union you will re- 
ceive in four packing-cases, numbered 1 to % a 
marble Monument, which has been executed 
by Mr. Bacon under our directions, to the me- 
mory of the Rev. Christian Frederick Swartz, 
as the most appropriate testimony of the deep 
sense we entertain of his transeendant merit, of 
his unwearied and disinterested ' labours in the 
cause of religion and piety, and the exercise of 
the purest and most exalted benevolence; also 
of his public services at Tanjore, where the in* 



APPENDIX. 



fluence of his name and character, through the 
unbounded confidence and veneration which they 
inspired, was for a long course of years pro- 
ductive of important benefits to the Company. 

4. On no subject has the Court of Directors 
been more unanimous, than in their anxious de- 
sires to perpetuate the memory of this eminent 
person, and to excite in others an emulation of 
his great example: we accordingly direct, that 
the Monument be erected in some conspicuous 
situation near the altar, in the Church of St. 
Mary, in the Fort St. George ; and that you 
adopt, in conjunction and with the assistance of 
ihe Rev. Dr. Kerr, the Senior Chaplain at your 
Presidency, any other measures that your judg- 
ment shali suggest, as likely to give effect to 
these our intentions, and to render them impres- 
sive on the minds of the public at your settle- 
ment. As one of the most efficacious, we would 
recommend that, on the first Sunday after the 
erection of the Monument, a discourse adapted 
to the occasion be delivered by the Senior Chap- 
lain. We desire also that the native inhabi- 
tants, by whom Mr. Swartz was so justly rever- 
ed, may be permitted and encouraged \o view 
the Monument, after it shall have been erected ; 
and that translations be made of the inscription 
into the country languages, be published at Ma- 
dras, and copies sent to Tanjore and the other 
districts in which Mr. Swartz occasionally re- 
sided and established seminaries for religious 
instruction. 

5. We were much gratiSed by learning that 
his Excellency the Rajah of Tanjore had also 
been desirous of erecting a Monument to the 
memory of Mr. Swartz, in the Church which 



APPENDIX. 



was built by Mr. Svvartz himself in the hmpv 
fort of that capital, and had sent directions ac- 
cordingly to this country, in consequence of 
which a Monument has been executed by Mr. 
Flaxman. We shall give directions for its be- 
ins* received on board one of our ships free of 
freight ; and we desire that you will afford eve- 
ry facility towards its conveyance to Tanjore. 
(A true Extract) G. G. KEBLE, Sec. 



COPY 

OF THE INSCRIPTION ON 

MR. SWARTZ's MONUMENT, 

C Dictated by the Hon. Court of Directors. J 

SACRED TO THE MEMORY 

of the Reverend Frederick Christian Swartz, 
Whose life was one continued effort to imitate the 
Example of his BLESSED MASTER. 
Employed as a Protestant Missionary from the 
Government of Denmark, 
And in the same character by the Society in England 

for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge, 
He, during a period of fiftt years, " Went about 
Doing Good 

Manifesting*, in respect to himself, the most entire 

abstraction from temporal views, 
But embracing every opportunity of promoting both 
the temporal and eternal Welfare of others. 
In him religion appeared not with a gloomy aspect 
or forbidding mien, 
But with a graceful form and placid dignity. 
Among the many fruits of his indefatigable labours was 

the erection of the church at Tanjore. 
The savings from a small salary were, for many years> 
devoted to the pious work, 
And the remainder of the expence supplied by 
Individuals, at his solicitation. 



APPENDIX. 



The Christian Seminaries at Ramnai>po^a:ms and in 
The Tin^evelly province were established by him. 
Beloved and honoured by Europeans, 
He was, if possible, held in still deeper reverence by ti e 

natives of this country, of every degree & every sect : 
And their unbounded confidence in his Integrity and 
Truth was, on many occasions rendered highly 
beneficial to the public service. 
The poor and the injured 
Looked up to him as an unfailing 1 friend and advocate ; 

The great and powerful 
Concurred in yielding him the highest homage ever paid 
in this Quarter of the Globe to European virtue. 
The late Kyder Ally Cawn, 
In the midst of a bloody and vindictive war with the 

Carnatic, sent orders to his Oliicers "to permit 
the venerable father Swartz to puss unmolested, imd 
shew him respect and kindness, for he is a 
Holy Man and means no harm to my Government." 
The late Tuljaja, Rajah of Taxjore, 
when on his death-bed, desired to entrust to his protect- 
ing care his adopted Son, Serfojee, the present Rajah, 

with the administration of all affairs of his Country. 
On a spot of ground granted to him by the same Prince, 
two Miles east- of Tanjore, 
He built a House for his Residence and made it an 

ORPHAN .AS YLU3I. 

Here the last twenty years of his l ife were spent in the 
education and religious instruction of Children, 
Particularly those of indigent parents — whom he 
gratuitously maintained and instructed : 
And here, on the 13th of February, 1793, 
Surrounded by his infant flock and in the presence of 
several of his disconsolate brethren,' 
Entreating them to continue to make religion 
the first object of their care, 
And imploring with his last breath the Divine Blessing 

on their Labours, he closed 
His truly Christian Career, in the 72d year of his Age. 

tkk East-Iniha Company, 
Anxious to perpetuate the memory of such transcend ant 
worth, and gratefully sensible of the Public Benefits 
which resulted from its influence, 
Caused this Monument to be erected, A. D. 18QK. 



178 



APPENDIX* 



No. XL 

The APOLOGY of Mr. Swar*z, in Answer 
to a Speech delivered in the British Parlia- 
ment, in 1793.— ( Extracted from the Pro- 
ceedings of the Honourable Society for pro* 
mating Christian Knowledge.) 

A LETTER* has been received from Mn 
jSwartz, dated at Tanjore, February 13, 1794, 
written in consequence of his having perused 
at Va|lam, in a newspaper called the Courier, 
pf Friday, May 24th, 1793, some animadver- 
sions on their Mission, the Missionaries in gen- 
eral, and himself in particular, and containing 
a vindication of hiniself, the other Missiona-? 
ries, and the Missions, against the misrepre- 
sentations produced to the public in those ani^ 
Biadversions. This letter, being of a particu- 
larly interesting nature, the Society judge fit 
to produce at lepgth. 

Tanjore, February %3, 1794 
Reverend and dear Sir, 

As his Majesty's 74th Regiment is partly 
stationed at Tanjore, and partly at Vail am, 
six JSuglish miles distant from Tanjore, we 

* As the Society, after forty years' experience, have 
had constant reason to approve of Mr> Swartz's integri- 
ty and veracity as a correspondent, his zeal as a promo- 
ter of Christian knowledge, and his labours as a Missi- 
onary ; they take this opportunity of acknowledging' 
his faithful services, and recommending his letter to 
the consideration of the public, as containing a just 
statement of facts relating to the Mission, believing 
Mr. S. is incapable of departing from the truth jn tfeg 
ininiitest particular. 



APPENDIX. 



eomrrionly go once in a week to Vallam, to per- 
form Divine service to four companies of that 
regiment. 

When I lately went to that place, the 250ik 
Dumber of a newspaper, called the Courier, 
Friday evening, May 24th$ 1793, was commu- 
nicated to me. 

In that paper I found a paragraph, delivered 
by Mr. Montgomefie Campbell (who came out 
to India with Sir Archibald Campbell, in the* 
station of a Private Secretary,) wherein my 
iiame was mentioned in the following mariner : 

" Mr. • M. Campbell gave his decided vote 
against the clause, and reprobated the idea of 
converting the Gentoos. It is true, Missiona- 
ries have made proselytes of the Parriars ; but 
they were the lowest order of people, and had 
even degraded the religion they professed to 
embrace. 

" Mr. Swartz, whose character was held sa 
deservedly high, could not have any reason to 
boast of the purity of his followers : they were 
proverbial for their profligacy. An instance 
occurred to his recollection perfectly in point: 
lie had been preaching for many hours to this 
east of proselytes on the heinousness of theft, 
and, in the heat of his discourse, taken oft* his 
stock, when that and his gold buckle were stol- 
en by one of his virtuous and enlightened con- 
gregation. In such a description of natives 
did the doctrine of the Missionaries operate. 
Men of high cast would spurn at the idea of 
changing the religion of their ancestors." 

As this paragraph is found in a public pa- 
per, I thought it would not displease the Hon- 
ourable Society to make a few observations- ou 



ISO 



APPENDIX. 



it 5 not to boast (which I detest,) but to declare 
the plain truth, and lo defend my brethren and 
myself. 

Akyit seventeen years ago, when I resided 
at Triehinopoly, I visited the Congregation at 
Tanjore. in my road 1 arrived very early at 
a village which is inhabited by Colla'ries (a set 
of people who are .infamous for stealing ; even 
the name of a Collary, or better Call en, signi- 
fies a thief.) These Collaries make nightly 
excursions in order to rob. They drive away 
bullocks and sheep, and whatever they can find 5 
for which outrage they annually pay. 1500 
eholoyor 730 pagodas, to the Rajah. 

Of this cast of people, many live in the Tan- 
jore country, still more in Tondiman's country, 
and likewise in the Nabob's country. 

When I arrived at one of these villages, call- 
ed Pndaloor, I took off' my stock, 'putting -it on 
a sand-bank. Advancing a little, to look out 
for the man who had carried my linnen clothes, 
I was regardless of the stock ; at which time 
some thievish boys took it away. Not one 
grown person was present. When the inhabi- 
tants heard of the theft, they desired me to con- 
fine all those boys, and to punish them as se- 
verely as I pleased; but I refused. to do that, 
not thinking that the trifle which I had lost was 

o 

worth so much trouble. 

That such boys, whose fathers are professed 
thieves, should commit a theft, can be no mat- 
ter of wonder. All the village, were heathens ; 
not one Christian family was found therein. — . 
Many _ of our gentlemen, travelling through 
that, village, have been robbed. 



APPENDIX. 



ISi 



The trifle of a buckle I did not there-fore lose 
by a Christian, as Mr. M. Campbell will have 
it, but by heathen boys. 

Neither did I preach at that time ; Mr. M. 
Campbell says that I preached two hours. I 
did not so much as converse with any man. 

This poor story, totally misrepresented, is 
alleged by Mr. M. Campbell to prove the profli- 
gacy of Christians, whom he called with a 
sneer, " virtuous and enlightened people." 

If Mr. M. Campbell has no better proof, 
his conclusion is built upon a bad foundation, 
and I shall not admire his logic : truth is 
against him. 

Neither is it true, that the best part of those 
^piople who have been instructed are Parriars. 
ilad Mr. M. Campbell visited, even once, our 
Church, he would have observed that more than 
two thirds were of the higher cast ; and so is it 
at Tranquebar and Yepery. 

Our intention is not to boast; but this I may 
safely say, that many of those people who have 
been instructed have left this world with com- 
fort, and with a well grounded hope of ever- 
lasting life. 

That some of those w ho have been instructed 
and baptized, have abused the benefit of in- 
struction, is certain : but all sincere servants 
of God, nay, even the Apostles, have experienc- 
ed this grief. 

It is asserted, that a Missionary is a dis- 
grace to any country. Lord Macartney and 
the late General Coote would have entertained 
a very different opinion. They, and many oth- 
er gentlemen, know and acknowledge, that the 

10 



1-3:2 



APPENDIX. 



Missionaries have been beneficial to Govern- 
ment, and a comfort to the country. 

This I am abie to prove in the strongest 
manner. Many gentlemen who live now in 
England, and in this country, would corroborate 
my assertion. 

That the Reverend Mr. Gericke lias been of 
eminent service at Cuddalore, every gentleman, 
who was at Cuddalore at the time when the war 
broke out, knows. He was the instrument in 
the hands of Providence, by which Cuddalore 
was saved from plunder and bloodshed. 

He saved many gentlemen from becoming 
prisoners to Hyder, which Lord Macartney 
kind ly acknow ledged. 

When Negapatam, that rich and populous 
city, fell into the deepest poverty, by the una- 
vodiable consequences of war, Mr. Gericke be- 
haved like a father to the distressed peopla of 
that city. He forgot that he had a family to 
provide for. Many impoverished families were 
supported by him ; so that when I, a few months 
ago, preached and administered the Sacrament 
in that place, I saw many who owed their and 
their children's lives to his disinterested care. 
Surely this, my friend, coy Id not be called a 
disgrace to that place. When the Honourable 
Society ordered him to attend the Congregation 
at Madras, all lamented his departure : and at 
Madras, he is esteemed by the Governor and 
many other gentlemen to this day. 

It is a most disagreeable task to speak of 
one's self. However, 1 hope that the Honoura- 
ble Society will not look upon seme observa- 
tions which I. am to make, as a vain and shift* I 



APPENDIX. 



boasting, but rather as a necessary self-defence. 
Neither the Missionaries, nor any of the Chris- 
tians, have hurt the welfare of the country. 

In the time of war, the Fort of Tanjore was 
in a distressed condition. A powerful enemy 
was near, the people in the Fort numerous, and 
not provision even for the garrison. There 
was grain enough in the country, but we had 
no bullocks to bring it into the Fort. When 
the country people formerly brought paddy in- 
to the Fort, the rapacious Dubashes deprived 
them of their due pay : hence all confidence 
was lost, so that the inhabitants drove away 
their cattle, refusing to assist the Fort. The 
late Rajah entreated the people, by his mana- 
gers, to come and help us ; but all was in vain. 

At last the Rajah said to one of our princi- 
pal gentlemen : " fVe all, you and I, have lest- 
our credit : let us try whether the inhabitants 
will trust Mr. Sivartz." Accordingly he sent 
me a blank paper, empowering me to make a, 
proper agreement with the people. Here was 
no time for hesitation. The Sepoys fell down 
as dead people, being emaciated with hunger : 
our streets were lined with dead corpses every 
morning : our condition was deplorable. I 
sent, therefore, letters every where round about, 
promising to pay any one with my own hands, 
and to pay them for any bullock which might 
be taken by the enemy. In one or two days, I 
got above a thousand bullocks, and ent one of 
our Catechists and other Christians into the 
country. They went at the risk ui t ieir lives, 
made all possible haste, and brought into the 
Fort, in a very short time, 80,000 kallarns* By 
17 



APPENDIX. 



tSiis means the Port was saved. When all was 
over, I paid the people (even with some money 
which belonged to others,) made them a small 
present, and sent them home. 

The next year, w hen Colone'. Braithwaite 
with his whole detachment was taken prisoner, 
Major Aleoek commanded this Fort, and be- 
haved very kindly to the poor starving people. 
We were then, the second time, in the same 
miserable condition. The enemy always in- 
vaded the country when the harvest was nigh 
at hand, I was again desired to try my for- 
mer expedient, and succeeded. The people 
knew that they were not to be deprived of their 
pay : they therefore came with their cattle. 
But now the danger was greater, as the enemy 
was very near. The Christians conducted the 
inhabitants to proper places, surely with no 
small danger of losing their lives. Accord- 
ingly they wept, and went, and supplied the 
Ft! with grain. When the inhabitants were 
paid, I strictly inquired whether any of the 
Christians had taken from them a present. 
They all said, " No, no ; as we were so regu- 
larly paid, we offered to your Catechist a cloth 
of small value, but he absolutely refused it." 

But Mr. Campbell says, that the Christians 
are profligate to a proverb. 

If Mr. M. Campbell was near me, I would 
explain to him who are the profligate people 
who drain the country. When a Bubash, in 
the space of ten or fifteen years, scrapes to- 
gether, two, three, or four lacks of pagoda?, 
is not this extortion a high degree of profli- 
gacy? 



APPENDIX. 



±85 



Nay, Government was obliged to send an 
order, that three of those Gentoo Dubashes 
should quit the Tanjore country. The enor- 
mous crimes committed by them filled the 
country with complaints; but I have no mind 
to enumerate them. 

It is asserted, that the inhabitants of the 
country would suffer by Missionaries. 

If the Missionaries are sincere Christians, it 
is impossible that the inhabitants should suffer 
any damage by them : if they are not what 
they profess to be, they ought to be dismissed. 

When Sir A. Campbell was Governor, and 
Mr. M. Campbell his Private Secretary, the 
inhabitants of the Tanjore country were so 
miserably oppressed by the Manager and the 
Madras Dubashes, that they quitted the country. 
Of course, all cultivation ceased. In the month 
of June, the cultivation should commence ; but 
nothing was done, even at the beginning of 
September. Every one dreaded the calamity 
of a famine. I entreated the Rajah to remove 
that shameful oppression, and to recal the in- 
habitants. He sent them word, that justice 
should be done to theaij but they disbelieved 
his promises. He then desired me to write to 
them, and to assure them, that he, at my inter- 
cession, would shew kindness to them. I did 
so. All immediately returned : and first of all 
the Kaller (or as they are commonly called 
Collaries) believed my word, so that 7,000 men 
Came back in one day. The other inhabitants 
followed their example. When I exhorted 
them to exert themselves to the utmost because 
the time for cultivation was almost lost, they 
18 



186 



APPENDIX. 



replied in the following manner: "As you have 
shewed kindness to us, yon shall not have reason 
to repent of it : we intend to work night and 
day, to shew our regard for you. 5 ' 

Sir A. Campbell was happy when he heard 
of it ; and we had the satisfaction of having a 
better crop than the preceding year. 

As there was hardly any administration of 
justice, I begged and entreated the Rajah to 
establish justice in his country. " Well," said 
he, " let me know wherein my people are op- 
pressed." I did so. He immediately consent- 
ed to my proposal, and told his manager, that 
he should feel his indignation, if the oppression 
did not cease immediately. But he soon died t 
he did not see the execution. 

When the present Rajah began his reign, I 
put Sir A. Campbell in mind of tiiat necessary 
point. He desired me to make a plan for a 
court of justice, which I did 5 but it was soon 
neglected by the servants of the Rajah, who 
commonly sold justice to the best bidder. 

When the Honourable Company took pos- 
session of the country, during the war, the plan 
for introducing justice was reassumed, by which 
many people were made happy. But when the 
country was restored to the Rajah the former 
irregularities took place. 

During the assumption. Government desired 
me to assist the gentlemen collectors. The 
district towards the west of Tanjore had been 
very much neglected, so that the water-courses 
had not been cleansed lor the last fifteen years. 
I proposed that the collector should advance 
500 pagodas to cleanse those water-courses. 



APPENDIX. 



The gentlemen consented, if I would inspect 
the business. The work was begun and finish- 
ed, being inspected by Christians. Ail that 
part of the country rejoiced in getting 100,000 
kallams more than before. The inhabitants 
confessed, that instead of one kali am they now 
reaped four. 

No inhabitant has suffered by Christians : 
none has complained of it. On the contrary, 
one of the richest inhabitants said to nie; "Sir, 
if you send a person to us, send, one who has 
learned all your Ten Commandments. 59 For 
he and many hundred inhabitants had been 
present, when I explained the Christian doc- 
trine to Heathens and Christians. 

The inhabitants dread the conduct of a 
Madras Dubash. These people lend money to 
the Rajah at an exorbitant interest, and then 
are permitted to collect their money and inter- 
est in an appointed district. It is needless to 
mention the consequences. 

When the Collaries committed great out- 
rages in their plundering expeditions. Sepoys 
were sent out to adjust matters ; but ii had no 
effect. Government desired me to inquire into 
the thievish business: I therefore sent letters 
to the head Collaries. They uppeare I. vv'e 
found out, in some degree, i:o,v much the Tan- 
jore and Tondaman's and the N [aboji's Collaries 
had stolen : and we insisted upon restoration, 
which was done accordingly. 

At last all gave in writing, that they would 
steal no more. This promise they kept for 
eight months, and then they began their old 
work \ however, not as before. Had the in- 



188 



APPENDIX. 



spection over their conduct been continued, they 
might have been made useful people. I insist- 
ed upon their cultivating their fields, which 
they really did. But if the demands became 
exorbitant, they have no resource, as they think, 
but that of plundering. 

At last some of those thievish Collaries de- 
sired to be instructed. I said, " I am obliged 
to instruct you ; but I am afraid that you will 
become very bad Christians." Their promises 
were fair. I instructed them ; and when they 
had a tolerable knowledge, I baptized them. 
Having baptized them, I exhorted them to steal 
no more, but to work industriously. After that 
I visited them; and having examined their 
knowledge, I desired to see their work. I ob- 
served with pleasure, that their fields were ex- 
cellently cultivated. " Now," said I, " one 
thing remains to be done; you must pay your 
tribute readily, and not wait till it is exacted 
by military force," which otherwise is their 
custom. Soon after that, I found that they had 
paid off their tribute exactly. 

The only complaint against those Christian 
Collaries was, that they refused to go upon 
plundering expeditions as they had done before. 

Now I am well aware, that some will accuse 
me of boasting. I confess the charge willingly, 
l)ut lay all the blame upon those who have con- 
strained me to commit that folly. 

I might have enlarged my account ; but fear- 
ing that some characters would have suffered 
by it, I stop here. 

One thing, however, I affirm, before God and 
man, that if Christianity, in its plain and undis 



A.PPEXDIX. 18$ 

gtitsed form, was properly promoted, the country 
would not suffer, but be benefited by it. 

If Christians were employed in some impor f 
tant offices, they should, if they misbehaved, be 
doubly punished s but to reject them entirely 
is not right, and discourageth. 

The glorious God, and our blessed Redeemer, 
has commanded his Apostles to preach the Gos- 
pel to all nations. 

The knowledge of God, of his divine perfec- 
tions, and of his mercy to mankind, may be abus- 
ed ; but there is no other method of reclaiming 
mankind, than by instructing them well. To 
hope that the heathens will live a good 
without the knowledge of God, is a chimera. 

The praise bestowed on the heathens of this 
country by many of our historians, is refuted by 
a close (I might also say by a superficial) in- 
spection of their lives. Many historical works 
are more like romances than history. Many 
gentlemen here are astonished how some histo- 
rians have prostituted their talents, by Writing 
fables.* 

I am now 7 at the brink of eternity ; but to this 
moment I declare, that I do not repent of having 
spent forty-tthree years in the service of my Di- 
vine Master, Who knows but God may remov 
same of the great obstacles to the propagation of 

* I would not apply the above censure pronounced, 
by Mr. Swartz, on certain accounts which he had perti 
sed, to the panegyric on the Hindoos, which we iravc 
recently heard from Mr. Buller, Mr. Marsh, othei 
but I would only beg" leave to suggest to them, a in 
measured phrase in describing the character of any Fa. 
gan people in the ears of the British public, 



-TJi/ Xppendix. 

the Gospel ? Should a reformation take place? 
amongst the Europeans, it would, no doubt, be 
the greatest blessing to the country. 

These observations 1 beg leave to lay before 
the Honourable Society, witii my humble thanks 
for all their benefits bestowed on this work, and 
sincere wishes that their pious and generous 
endeavours to disseminate the knowledge of 
Gad, and Jesus Christ, may be beneficial to 
saany thousands,, 
1 am sincerely, 

Reverend and dear Sir, 
Your affectionate brother asid humble servant, 

(Signed). C. F. SWARTZ, 



S '07 



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